Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous be shaken. — Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. — 1 Peter 5:7

How are you doing, really?  By the time this month ends, we’ll have lived in this pandemic with the ensuing quarantine and social distancing for an entire year.  While some are anticipating that we’ll reach “herd immunity” by April, President Biden is suggesting that we shouldn’t expect a return to “normal” until Christmas.  I think we’re all feeling the weight and strain in a heavier, more difficult way right now.  It’s the weariness of being under stress and anxiety for a far longer period of time than our minds, our bodies and our emotions were meant to endure.  And, of course, on top of the pandemic sits all of the pain and hurts that simply come with being human and being alive — pains and hurts that can be difficult enough to bear when we aren’t in a pandemic, but become nearly impossible to bear due to the pandemic.  What are you doing with your hurts and pains (emotional and physical), the anxieties and fears, the weights and burdens of living in these hard times? 

As the verses above remind and encourage us, God wants us to bring all of our cares and anxieties to him.  But just what does that look like?  I’m sure most of us have, at some point in time, cried out to the Lord and verbally thrown everything at him at once.  That can be therapeutic — much like the whistle of a teapot lets off the pressure of the boiling water — and if you haven’t unburdened your soul that way in a long time, I absolutely encourage you to do so.  But, if you have done that, you’ve probably found the same thing I have: while the immediate pressure release is helpful, the burdens and weights are still there.  I’d like to invite you to try an ancient spiritual practice that helps us to hand our cares to the Lord in a more intentional way, a way that invites the Holy Spirit to sustain us more deeply.

The Daily Replay

The process is called The Daily Examen and was developed by St. Ignatius centuries ago.  It is a 5-step process of prayerfully reviewing your day and anticipating the day to come. While meant to be practiced each day, it can be prayed at any point during the day.  How long you take to work through the prayer is up to you — it could be as short as 5 minutes or as long as you need. Here’s an overview of what the process looks like:

1. Become aware of God’s presence.

Take several moments to breathe, relax, and invite God to be present with you.

Sometimes settling our body and mind is really difficult, especially when we have a lot going on.

One trick is to focus on our breathing. When we breathe slow and deep, we let our body and souls know that it is okay to relax and rest in God’s presence. Slowly take three seconds to breathe in through your nose, making sure to fill your belly with air . . . and then take three seconds to breathe out slowly through your mouth. Pause, then breathe in again. Repeat that a few times.

As you continue to breathe deeply and slowly, acknowledge God’s presence with each breath.

(Pause for a few moments)

2. Review the day with gratitude.

Look back through your day as if you were watching scenes from a movie. What happened? What were you like? What were others doing around you?

What are the good things that have happened today? What can you give thanks for?

(Pause for a few moments)

3. Pay attention to your emotions.

Ask yourself about how you felt at different points during the day.

What moments throughout your day have been difficult or tense?

When did you feel happy, excited, or at peace?

(Pause for a few moments)

4. Forgive, and ask for forgiveness.

Who are you angry or frustrated at?

Are there things you can forgive and let go in order to have peace?

What would you like to be forgiven for?

(Pause for a few moments)

5. Look toward tomorrow.

How might tomorrow be different?

What would you like to ask God to help with?

(Pause for a few moments)

Take some time to wrap up your conversation with God silently.

This kind of contemplative prayer can seem strange at first, but once we settle into the rhythm of it, I think you’ll find your awareness of the presence of God is growing stronger.  Instead of just throwing our cares at God, through this process we more intentionally place them in God’s hands.  Here are a few online resources to help you with The Daily Examen:

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison