Grounding in Christ
How is your soul?
No, really, how is your soul?
Have you ever paused in the middle of your day to day life to ask yourself this question? With the ups and downs we have in our lives, our souls can become weary and worn out. Over time, our weary souls can affect our relationships with others, our peace of mind, our joy, and our relationship and trust with God. We all have soul wounds.
Soul wounds come from the many life experiences that wound us deep within. You know, those hurts from others, maybe their words or actions, disappointments, or life difficulties that have left us wounded and in need of restoration. For some, this may be trauma and abuse. For others, it’s living with anxiety and fear, and then there are the devastating tragedies many of us have experienced throughout our lifetime.
Right now, as I’m writing this, Covid-19 is the scare of our nation and the world. Fear wants to come in and consume us, cripple us, and isolate us from others. It tells us to stay hidden, to think only for yourself, and that community is the enemy. Fear drives us to horde, to consume, and to not consider the needs of others. Fear is a liar!
Over the next five weeks, we will focus on our Soul Care, finding our grounding in Christ. Although I developed these steps a few months ago, I see how God’s timing is perfect. When fear, anxiety, trauma memories, or depression triggers within us, there are steps we can do to get our focus and grounding in Christ. These steps help us to take our eyes off of what our soul wounds were telling us and placing them on the truth of God.
As a counselor, when I work with individuals who are struggling, one of the tools I teach them is this grounding skill, the 5,4,3,2,1. Grounding skills are to be used if you have a panic attack, your anxiety is through the roof, or trauma memories come and sideswipe you. This tool is one that helps you get grounded back to the here and now. For this series, I’ve taken this concept and turned it into Grounding with Christ.
This week our focus is on reading and meditating on God’s Word. We will focus on five Psalms over the next five days, which speak of hope, life, peace, and more amid life situations. Friends, we need to get our eyes off of what has us bound up in fear and back on who gave His life to provide us with freedom from ALL bondages. Below, you will find our first week’s focus, meditating on God’s Word (see graphic below).
Here’s the plan; each day, pick one of the five Psalms to read. Please make a point to read it first thing in the morning. Read it more than one time. Try reading it a few times and in different versions, if possible. If there is a particular verse within the reading for the day that speaks to your spirit, be sure to pause, reread, and ask God what this scripture means to you for today.
Turn the Psalms into a prayer and let it be your focus throughout the day. If you find you are triggered, be sure to read the Psalms once again and meditate on that instead of ruminating on your fear, anxiety, struggles, trauma memories, or reason for your trigger. Oh, and don’t forget to end the day reading the same Psalms. We are saturating our minds with God’s Word!
I am so excited about going on this journey with you over the next few weeks. Would you join me as we take our focus off of our triggers and on to our God? I am praying for you and with you, my friend.
Blessings,
P.S. If you have a friend who you believe needs to hear this message, please be sure to share it with them.
P.S.S. Join me on my Facebook Page (link below) as each day we focus on the Psalms together and be sure to share what God is speaking to your heart as we do this together.
