What Would I Tell My Younger Self

On my walk this morning, I was reflecting a bit on my life. I guess that’s what you do when you think about another approaching birthday. I had to chuckle at how I seemed to know so much when I was younger! God has done some deep and lasting work in the ups and downs of my life. What would I tell my younger self?

Be content. It’s so easy to wish away our lives on the things we hope will happen. When single, I spent a lot of time wishing I was married and had kids. It was tough waiting while others received what I wanted. God taught me the value in waiting as He transformed my character in so many ways! Paul in Philippians 4:12 said he learned the secret of being content in every situation. I think contentment in this life is a battle, but a daily opportunity to rest in Christ and trust Him for our lives. 

Be your true self. We can forge forward in this world trying to be someone we’re not. Ask God to help you be your true self. It’s not always easy, but God can help you thrive in being fully you!

Don’t run from pain. We try to avoid pain at all costs, but eventually pain will come. It’s what you do with that pain that matters. Take it to Jesus. Tell Him how you feel. Walk with Him through your trial. Have a trusted group of friends that you can share with. Don’t go it alone. Here’s a good practice during trials “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

God doesn’t make mistakes. I had a bit of a hard start to life being in an orphanage, before being adopted. Yet, over the years God has sealed in my heart that He was constantly with me back then and EVERY moment of my life. He had a specific plan for my life even despite it appearing to be a ‘mistake.’ “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

Get your approval from God. It doesn’t take long in life to realize that not everyone will like you. Why do we want everyone to like us? How realistic is this? How has seeking the approval of others hindered you from being who God has called you to be? I have a simple aim in life to love God and love people. Some may not like me and that’s OK. I want God’s approval most. “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galations 1:10)

Do what you were created for. It’s easy to get stuck in a job or a way of life, simply because it’s safe. The alternative of doing something different is too big and audaciously scary for you. Do it! Get out of your comfort zone! I love doing what I was created to do!

Be curious. Try new things. Ask questions. Learn from others. Listen more than talk. I always want to be a learner. Currently, I’m studying Spanish online and it’s great. I’m reading books that are out my normal genre. I’m learning from people different than me.

Mind your mind. We can so easily get stuck in ruminating on how others have hurt you or how things came down wrong in your life. Choose to forgive. It will get you out of your own prison! Notice what you think about and ask God to help you mind your mind. Feel your feelings but be able to move on. God will help you in this.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio. 

Doomscrolling

Chances are you’ve heard of this new word, doomscrolling. You've actually probably found yourself doing it. Doomscrolling is the act of continuously scrolling through social media or surfing the web and taking in a constant torrent of bad news. It’s gotten way more attention during the pandemic as there was plenty of bad news to go around!

For many, doomscrolling has become a mindless habit. It can be so mindless that you might find yourself picking up your phone and start scrolling without even being aware of it. Doomscrolling can reinforce negative thoughts and a negative mindset, something that can greatly impact your mental health. Whether it’s reading about another shooting, political strife, racial tension, or just mindless twitter feed, our minds can take a beating to this constant negativity. We can become angry, pathetic, hopeless, discouraged or even depressed by taking in the bad news of the day.

I find myself scrolling instead to Psalm 73 in the Bible. Psalm 73 actually gives help to the doomscrolling habit. If you’ve ever wondered how something could happen to you or your family that seemed so unfair and so wrong, this is the Psalm for you. How could a good God allow all this bad stuff to happen? The writer of the Psalm, Asaph, was acknowledging that God was good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. (Psalm 73:1) But, Asaph was in trouble. Crazy bad trouble. His feet almost slipped. He lost his grip. He was ready to walk away. He, quite frankly, was ready to throw in the towel.

So much BAD had happened! Asaph saw how other not-so-good people were being treated and he was envious! Suddenly, Asaph started paying attention to these people and it led him down a bad path. It was like he was doomscrolling over and over what the important people of his day had, (their bodies, their health, their possessions, the company they kept, etc) and his conclusion? What a rip-off!!! God, it’s not fair!

I find the Psalmist one I can relate to. He’s brutally honest about his feelings, his struggles with God and his envy. But, finally, after he’s poured his heart out to God, he did something hugely important in Psalm 73:16-17 “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” 

At that point, everything changed in what Asaph said. He brought his confusion to God. He worshipped God and got God’s infinite perspective, not his own human one. He saw himself and how envy had affected Him. He saw His God clearly and gained an eternal perspective. Asaph prayed so beautifully in these verses “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:23-26)

Doomscrolling can take us down a dismal path of gloom and doom. When we go to God and get His perspective, things change.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Not Done with Easter

Easter is done. However, I’m not done with Easter. I want to sit a little longer in the awesomeness of it all. I want to take in what it must have felt like to have been there. The agony of Jesus' death. The inexplicable joy of the resurrection. The hidden fears of “What if?” and “What now?” as they contemplated life without Jesus.

But, wait, there’s more to the story! Picture two women who loved Jesus very much showing up at the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. They had to go! They loved Jesus so much! As they arrived at the tomb, this happened: “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” (Matthew 28:2-4)

The story of Easter doesn’t end with Christ coming out of the tomb. Here are two persistent, compassionate, grieving women that wanted to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. They were even more anxious and confused when they couldn’t find his body there.

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7) 

The angel knew exactly what the women were feeling at that moment. Sorry. Grief. Confusion. Uncertainty. Where is Jesus? We just want to see our Jesus!

The angel calmed their fears. Oh, don’t you and I need that? Those fears of the unknown that grip us at the most inopportune of times. The angel knew they were looking for Jesus and told them “He has risen, just as he said.” The angels literally invited the women to see for themselves that Jesus had risen from the dead. Finally, the angel told them to go quickly and tell his disciples.

Don’t miss their trip to spread the news. On the way from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, Jesus steps out of nowhere on the path! “Greetings.” he said. “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:8-10) Jesus was alive and present with them! Why should they fall prey to fear? 

We can get so caught up in our fears that we miss what’s right in front of us. An empty tomb. A resurrected Savior. A place of grace for all to see, where the lost can experience redemption. Mary Magdalene and Mary with great joy gave witness to the risen Christ. They didn’t let their fears get in the way of spreading the greatest story ever told.

Jesus’ command to the women becomes a command to each of us today: Stop being afraid. God has defeated death. We are loved, redeemed and wanted by God Himself. We have nothing to fear.

Linger a bit longer in Easter. I’m not done with Easter.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.