Caring for Our Overall Health

By Rev. Lee Anderson, Minister of Care

May is National Mental Health Month. It is important to draw attention to the various mental illnesses that exist and to the treatment of and stigma against mental illnesses in our country. But it is also important to remember that mental health is not just about mental illnesses and disorders.  Mental health is in the same category as physical health; we have a body and a brain, a mind and emotions, and how we take care of these parts of our being impacts our overall health. Additionally, physical and mental health is intertwined. For instance, the same stress we experience because of hectic schedules or worrying about the future creates an increase in the levels of cortisol in our bodies. Increased cortisol levels are linked to lower immune function, increased blood pressure and heart disease, and decreased memory function.

Mental health is also connected with spiritual health. Let’s look at stress here as well, something everyone experiences. A spiritually fit person might take time out of her busy schedule each day to be still and just sit in the presence of God. Or, his faith leads him away from dwelling on all the “what ifs” of the future because he knows God is with him no matter what. While stress can’t be avoided, there are ways to release stress and not let it take over. While exercise, diet, and sleep are all important in caring for our mental health, people of faith find that their spiritual practices (or lack thereof) have an impact as well.

Here is a simple exercise to incorporate in your day-to-day activities, based on Philippians 4:6, which reads “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (NIV). This verse is often summarized by the phrase “Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything.” As you feel a worry arise, write it down on a piece of paper, fold it up, and put it in a container designated as your God container. God can contain much more than we can! As you place the worry in the container, close the lid and leave it there. The key is to leave it in God’s hands…and not continue to carry it with you.  

Living with an Open Heart

By Rev. Lee Anderson, Minister of Care

With all the hard stuff going on in today’s world, it is easy to become hardened ourselves. To be in touch with our own pain, let alone someone else’s, seems a monumental task. It feels better to just block things out, distract ourselves, or avoid uncomfortable situations. But that only feels better for a while. You can’t escape suffering in life, you can only ignore it until it evolves into something bigger, such as physical illness, addiction, depression, and so on.

The truth is, this is an ages-old issue. There never has been a period of time where the world did not get people down. For those of us living in the present, it can seem this is the worst things have ever been. However, those living in decades, centuries, and millennia past experienced the same feelings and beliefs about their own time. The message of Jesus is as relevant today as it was during his lifetime. We need God; the world is too much for most of us without God.

To avoid becoming hardened and live fully in a world that troubles us is a Christian calling. It requires allowing our hearts to remain softened toward ourselves and other people. This belief is also shared by Buddhist (and other religious) thought. Here, Pema Chodron, Buddhist monk and teacher, writes about this process:

“When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it’s bottomless, that it doesn’t have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space. Your world seems less solid, more roomy and spacious. The burden lightens. In the beginning it might feel like sadness or a shaky feeling, accompanied by a lot of fear, but your willingness to feel the fear, to make fear your companion, is growing. You’re willing to get to know yourself at this deep level. After a while this same feeling begins to turn into a longing to be fully human and to live in your world without having to shut down and close off when certain things come along. It begins to turn into a longing to be there for your friends when they’re in trouble, to be of real help to this poor, aching planet. Curiously enough, along with this longing and this sadness and this tenderness, there’s an immense sense of well-being, unconditional well-being, which doesn’t have anything to do with pleasant or unpleasant, good or bad, hope or fear, disgrace or fame. It’s something that simply comes to you when you feel that you can keep your heart open.” 

Invite the living Christ into your heart as you work to keep it open. As Jesus touches our own wounds, we can be his presence in the world as we touch the wounds of others.

Holy Week

By Rev. Lee Anderson

 

During this year’s Ash Wednesday service, I preached a sermon about the Lenten journey of letting go, or giving way and making room for God in our lives. Here is a look back at some of what I shared:

“Nature tells us that new life can happen when old life gives way. A forest burns, and the ashes lend to fertile soil from which new plants grow. Leaves die and fall during autumn, allowing trees to store energy over winter and push forth new leaves in the spring. Butterflies burst forth from cocoons, formed when caterpillars go inward and allow themselves to be structurally changed. When the DNA of two people combines to create a new human being, those cells are no longer individual entities but something completely new; likewise, the parents are never the same either. We can see a theme here. New life comes from letting go of the old. We might even say that new life comes from death, or a dying away. 

This is where the image of dying to our old selves or our old ways comes in. We allow for this death so that something new within us is born. This image has been passed down through the centuries because it is a rich image. It has served me in my own Christian journey, especially this time of year. But another way of looking at this process is yielding, giving something up, or even giving way. . . .This is what Lent is really about: making room for God. We hear the word repentance a lot during Lent. Repentance does not mean recognizing sin and asking for forgiveness, repentance means turning away from what you have been doing, and turning toward God. . . .We must open ourselves and let God in. So often though, there is something in the way. . . .Jesus spoke often about the things that get in the way of God. He talked about worry and fear getting in the way. He talked about storing up material wealth or food. He challenged people to leave behind family and belongings to follow him.” 

The Lenten journey involves giving something up, but not simply because of the sacrifice involved. When we give up something of value for Lent, we are really clearing space for God to enter in. This is not easy, but we do it because along with the ushering in of God into the voids of our life comes true life. When we let go of something we know, even if we know the change is for the better, it can feel like death. After all, at least something within our world as we know it is coming to an end. In this final week of your Lenten journey, as you fully let go and receive the gift of new life, know you are not alone in the difficult feelings that arise. This particular week in the gospels was a grim one. The disciples' time with Jesus went from a joyous occasion...celebrating Passover and sharing time together...to very bad news. As the disciples struggled to come to terms with Jesus' statements that he would be leaving them, then learned of his crucifixion, we can imagine what they felt. They were scared; it felt like their world was coming to an end. They were being asked to let go of all they had come to know about the world during their time with Jesus, of all they had devoted their life to, and of their beloved Rabbi.

Reflect on the disciples' experience. Know that Jesus went to the grave before us. And remember that despite the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety, in the end the disciples received very good news. There is an Easter waiting to happen!

Compassionate Change

By Rev. Lee Anderson

This is the time of year when many people are thinking about change, resolutions, new habits, and new beginnings. Whatever you are attempting to do differently, I invite you to take a journey of self-compassion while doing so. 

In her book Making a Change for Good, Zen Buddhist teacher Cheri Huber describes the difference between self-discipline and self-improvement. She states that “Self-improvement…is based on a false premise (that there is something wrong with you) and results in suffering.” Sure, self-discipline is important in leading a life that allows us be who we want to be, and who God designed us to be. But this is different from believing we are inherently flawed, that something is wrong with us and needs to be fixed. This kind of self-beating leads us further away from connecting to God’s love; we hide our faces in shame rather than turn to God with an open heart. Transformation can and does happen when we are healed and made whole. However, and this is important to remember, even up until your time of healing, you are still worthy of love. God loves you just as you are, and longs for the connection that brings wholeness. You do not need to earn this.  

When there is something you want to change about yourself, it is important to remember this belovedness. First, change does not happen simply by beating yourself up or putting yourself down. I am sure that some have experienced changed habits by doing this, but what about the emotional suffering that comes with it? Does that suffering reflect God’s goodness of creation? Second, if you believe you are already loved, you will be that much more willing to open up and let God in to touch those places that need healing, so you can be the person you long to be. A friend of mine, who is a student of the aforementioned Cheri Huber, taught me this wonderful phrase to start the day: “Your goodness is already established.  How do you want to be today?”

As followers of Christ, we believe in new life and the hope of the Resurrection. This belief is rooted in love. Jesus modeled compassion; shouldn’t we share in that compassion toward ourselves as well as others? As you work toward change for yourself, don’t forget to call on the One who can make all things new.