Times of Uncertainty

Coffee Shop Incident

There was only one other couple in the café. We got our coffees and sat down at a different table. The early morning coffee tasted even better because it was snowing outside. The businessman I was meeting was burdened. Memories of many coffees like this decades ago helped the stories to flow. My friend started explaining his concerns and convictions. I was soaking in the Northern air, sipping my coffee, and listening to my friend’s interpretation of the news. Suddenly the other table in the room exploded. The chairs scraped back, almost falling over. The beautiful lady jumped up and came over, madder than a hornet. All I really heard were the loud f-words and that my friend needed to “stop talking immediately!” The huge bearded giant in a checkered flannel shirt who was drinking coffee with the lady followed a few meters behind her, affirming her by casting derogatory comments at us in calmer manner as they cursed their way to the exit. I was so surprised. Until that table exploded I had forgotten we were in a public setting. My first thought was to apologize and to try to hear their story but my friend had a different emotional response. Instead of letting them leave as peacefully as possibly he immediately and loudly tried engaging them with even more of his version of the truth. This was not well received. I was able to stay engaged without getting triggered by the emotional drama. “Interesting. Social anxiety is really high. This is unusual behavior for Canadians.” My friend looked at me in discouragement. “See, this is what bothers me. I’m not even allowed to have my own opinion.” I apologized to the barista who was staring at the couple as they left. She was gracious and shrugged it off with a smile. Now we had the café to ourselves so we continued with our conversation until our coffees were gone.

Multigenerational Transmission Process

We learn many of our primary emotional responses from our parents. If our parents experienced great trauma in life, some of that gets passed on to some of their children. My own personal history, for example, includes generations of Christian blessings. It also includes great trauma. My uncle wrote that my great-grandparents owned 78 yoke of oxen which they used to plow their fields. They were huge land-owners and employers in Russia. My grandfather, their son, escaped to Canada with his wife and two small children in the 1920s but his father died in a Siberian prison camp. Seven more children would be born in Canada, including my mother who learned to speak English when she went to school in Grade One. Can you imagine the difficulties? On my father’s side, his grandparents owned a mill in Russia. All the people in their village worked for him. One day at lunch he left the big mill running and escaped out the back door with his family and a suitcase full of cash. They bribed their way out of Russia ended up as pioneers in Northern Manitoba. Those who could not get out suffered severely. My mom has her grandfather’s original journal, written in pencil while in a Siberian labor camp. These stories are common among the Mennonites. God rescued them and led them to Canada, the United States, Brazil, and Paraguay. The people who fled the government persecution lived to prosper elsewhere. This is my people’s history.  Now our Canadian government is forbidding public church services and forbidding family gatherings at Christmas. Back to the lady in the café, I wonder what stories her parents experienced and passed down to her and how she learned to cope with chronic stress? I am really curious about her story.

Preparation for Revival?

Seasons of great stress may be a Preparation for a Revival. When we run out of our own resources and we are desperate, this is a great time to abandon ourselves to God. This is a time for some people to engage in different kinds of conversations, the deeper kind. May God’s people rise up strong during this opportune season to be a kind and powerful Presence. In order for this to happen we need to be more connected than ever to God.

1. Learn to attach to Jesus above all else. This takes time, personal time, with Him. Learn to let Him carry you in spite of all the dark possibilities. I find a minimum of 20 minutes daily of Centering Prayer most helpful. My brain used to feel so scattered with possible bad emails, or bad news. God is using my Centering Prayer time, my quiet time in His presence, to start my day with a better perspective.

2. It is helpful to be aware of how you are feeling. The Prayer of Examen is one way to do this. Every day we reflect on our actions and emotions. Click here for an example.

3. When you are in a dark place keep going with your last instructions from when you were in the light.

• God has told me many times through a variety of sources that we are coming in to an abundantly fruitful season.
• Im sticking with this until I get further instructions.

4. Sometimes the Discipline of Indifference is helpful. Ask the Holy Spirit what is at the root of your anxiety. Then use words to give that to Him. In an act of radical abandonment commit to putting God first no matter what.

4. As you think about what is causing you anxiety, remember the Serenity Prayer. Twenty-five years ago in Santarem a doctor friend explained to me, “We like to think about worst-case scenarios. What is the worst thing that could happen? If we can face that question we can move forward.” This kind of thinking helps me.

One of Jesus’ names is Counselor.
We ask for counsel, and then we choose obedience.
Making the right choice is comforting even when it is scary.

“For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”(Isaiah 9:6).“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid”(John 14:27).
5. On a practical level, if you struggle with chronic anxiety and it won’t go away, a friend explained to me how he developed a hobby that took all of his concentration. His mind could not focus on two things at once. In this way he could get his peace back.

Questions:

1. How is chronic anxiety affecting you on a scale of 1-100?

2. How do you cope with it?

3. Is your method working for you?

4. Have you had any chances to genuinely share the reason for your Hope?