Girl in the Bubble
I
wake up several times a night and my mind is racing, replaying a work crisis or
an itemized to do list for the next day.
It’s difficult to intentionally change my thoughts to something else but
I try, every time. I literally say to
myself, “5-4-3-2-1 – think of something else.”
I will attempt to plant thoughts in my mind of trees or clouds but often
I’ll think, “How it is possible a little 15 pound dog can take up so much room
in this bed?” Poor quality sleep is
creating a hole in my bucket.
Upon
waking I listen to the morning news and the worry is overwhelming. “Detectives investigate another shooting. They are evacuating several Targets across
the country for bomb threats. There’s
another shooting in an elementary school.”
I try to listen to music but most days it’s the news. Sadly, the same reports echo across the
country. Potential terrorist attacks,
bomb threats, shootings and government drama create so much worry. We almost feel immune to it but the
underlying state of constant upheaval is there.
I can feel it. I think of my grown
nieces and nephews and the little young ones.
What does the future hold for them? I pray about it but I still worry. This underlying wave of concern is creating a hole in my bucket.
Several
meetings occur throughout my work day. The
pressure of corporate America deadlines and bottom lines is everywhere. I try to stay positive at work but the
heaviness can often make that difficult.
It’s too easy to succumb to the negativity. Friends in completely different industries seem
to experience similar pressures. Negative
work stress is creating yet another hole in my bucket.
Cynthia
Lewis said, “A tiny hole can empty a great big bucket.” It takes a full bucket to have the energy for
success in the pursuit of your goals and dreams. Empty buckets can potentially lead to emotional
burn out, failed relationships and physical health issues. My concern is empty buckets can also lead to
falling off the wagon with sugar cookies, lots and lots of sugar cookies! This week the question I seek to answer is
how do I plug the holes in my bucket?
Philippians
4:6
Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Ray
Thill said, “If your bucket has holes in it, nothing is going to fill those
holes other than God.” When I become
overly worried, it’s usually because I feel I’m taking the world on alone. When I’m at peace, it’s usually because I
remember who is really in control. God
showed me the bible verse Philippians 4:6 this week. Paul wrote this when he was in prison, a
dungeon really, yet he says to rejoice in the Lord. He is saying don’t worry about anything,
instead pray about everything. To pray
is to let go and let God take over. This
week I set out to find ways to keep joy and happiness a priority in the midst
of everyday life. I set out ways to plug
the holes in my bucket. God revealed
four ways to me this week to do just that.
PRAYING
Paul
tells us to not worry about a thing and turn it all over to God. Psalm 55:42 says to cast your burdens on the
Lord. This week I started something new
for me. Driving into work I turned off the
radio and drove in silence. I literally spoke
out loud and talked to Jesus saying this prayer every morning. “Lord, please surround me with a bubble of
your protection. Let all aggressive or
negative words bounce off of me and not affect me. Keep me safe.
I turn all problems over to you to help guide me and my team to
solutions. I lift up my co-workers so
they feel safe and protected.” A major
problem was resolved on Monday and I slept so well that night. Several times
throughout each day I reminded myself that I was in the bubble and didn’t allow
anything to get to me. I even started to
visualize this invisible bubble around me, especially in stressful meetings and
the impact was amazing!
THINKING
Joyce
Myer says, “Watch out for the joy-stealers; gossip, criticism, complaining,
faultfinding, and a negative judgmental attitude.” Wrong thinking can cause you to lose your
joy. Bad thinking may come from the
influence of other people. The negative
folks who don’t like anything and talk badly about everything are joy stealers
and you need to keep guard. This week I
guarded myself from allowing these conversations to go in a negative
direction. In the spirit of full
disclosure, I have been guilty of this myself!
This week I consciously changed the subject or turned the negative
discussion into a positive one by pointing out something good. Misery loves company and if you don’t partake
in the direction of a conversation the conversation will either change or the
person will lose interest and leave you alone. I’m speaking from experience from
this past week. It worked!
BELIEVING
Psalm 84:7 says that God intends for
us to “go from strength to strength”, but sometimes lately I struggle to get
through difficulties, especially at work.
Many days I feel I’m going from struggle to struggle but what I realize
is what I believe about the challenge makes a big difference. This week I made a choice to look at each
challenge differently. This week, while
safely inside my Angel protection bubble, I started to tell myself that I’m not
just going through this but I’m growing through this. I tell myself that I have all power to
overcome, and go from strength to strength, because of Jesus. I tell myself that God fills me with joy and
peace while I learn what I need to learn from this. This too shall pass but I have everything I
need. John C. Maxwell said, “Success is
due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them.” Knowing in my heart of hearts that I have
what it takes to make it through any challenge is liberating and
empowering. It’s all in a matter of how
we look at it.
DOING
Do
something incredibly helpful for someone else.
One of the most joyful actions we can take is to make someone else feel
joy. Bringing pleasure to another and
witnessing their joy can have a wonderful effect back on you. This boomerang joy will help plug a hole in
the bucket. Lewis Caroll said, “One of the deep secrets of life is that
all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.” Scientific studies show that helping others
boosts happiness, increases life satisfaction, provides a sense of meaning,
improves our mood and reduces stress. Kindness
towards others is the glue that connects us with people and is the key to
creating happier and trusting relationships. This leads to a virtuous circle of
feeling happy when you give which makes you give more and you feel
happier. Acts 20:35 says that it’s more
blessed to give than to receive and there’s scientific proof to back that
up. This week I tried to find ways of
doing something nice for someone else at work each day. It helped me create positive feelings within
myself and I could also help brighten someone else's day.
This week I was a girl in the
bubble. The morning bubble visualization
grew with each passing day. Towards the
end of the week I transformed to Wonder Woman within the now steel bubble of
protection with huge beautiful glowing luminescent angel wings surrounding the
bubble. I could tell a difference in the
level of stress I felt by week’s end compared to the beginning. This new morning prayer visualization is now
part of my daily routine. I still don’t
know how a little 15 pound dog can take up half the bed but I do know that my
bucket is filling up!
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