Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”

James 4:8

This is part 1 of 5 in the series “Move the Needle” by author Megan Valentine.

Recently I started to realize that my fuse was getting shorter and shorter.  I’d get agitated easily and was definitely more anxious than usual.  

One night in particular, a few months ago, my heart was heavy.  I could feel that dreaded lump-in-the-back-of-my-throat developing as the evening hours passed.  The sensation was right there, threatening to break through.

Truthfully, what I wanted to do once I was finally off parent duty for the night was to grab some ice cream, turn on Netflix, and scroll on Facebook.  

It’s not rocket science but that would have been an obvious distraction to avoid thinking about (or dealing with) whatever was going on inside me.  

Any or all of those things would have been so much easier than intentionally pausing.  Looking inward. Asking myself some honest questions and working to expose what was going on in my heart and mind. I had tried numbing out and even doing the whole “choose joy” thing for a while now. But things weren’t getting any better.  

So instead, I pulled out my Bible and journal and made the choice to sit in the discomfort of quiet, to listen and then to pour out my heart on those pages. 

It wasn’t pretty as the tears dripped and the ink smeared, but what was beautiful was the peace I experienced as I felt God draw near to me in my time of need. Why do we avoid doing the one thing that could change how we view and feel about everything?

Today’s Challenge: Carve out time today or tonight to get quiet, to listen and to pour out your thoughts, emotions and burdens on paper or in prayer.

Today’s devotion by Megan Valentine, a wife, mama of three, and author of the #1 National Bestseller No Place Like Known: A Journey Of Self-Discovery, Chasing Dreams, And Finding Home Right Where You Are. She is the founder of Team Brave: A community of women who are committed to pursuing their dreams, loving their people well, and living lives that matter.