“How can you be so calm?” Has anyone ever asked you that? No one has ever asked me that. I’m not usually dramatic, I just tend to wear all my emotions on my face. So if I’m anxious, or happy, or sad, or annoyed, or anything at all, everyone can see it.

It’s hard to be calm right now. I’m vacillating between trolling Twitter for coronavirus updates and forcing myself to put the phone down. I’m teetering between trying to ignore the virus (still washing and sanitizing, of course) and worrying over loved ones who might get sick and children who will go without school lunches and the whole economy of the world. And I’m trying to do all this without worrying my kids. It’s a lot, right? I can’t be the only one feeling this way.

I was praying for guidance this morning and remembered a verse that I love:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
- Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV)

I desperately need that peace right now. How do I get that peace? In verse 6, right before he promises us peace, Paul tells us to bring our requests to God with thanksgiving. So I tried it. And you should too.

In her book The Armor of God, Priscilla Shirer writes, “When we choose thankful prayer over wallowing in anxiety and worry, we are demonstrating an unwavering trust in God.  Prayer shrouded in gratitude expresses a firm faith.  Concentrating on Him instead of being absorbed by our circumstances tells the Lord that we believe He is able to override and overcome even the most difficult issues.” 

God does not tell us that everything will be rainbows and sunshine. And I’m not advocating that we bury our heads in the sand (as tempting as that may be). But while we remember the people around us who are suffering and as we serve them in love, let’s be thankful. Let’s thank God for His good and perfect gifts and bring Him our anxious thoughts.

I’ll start: I’m thankful for baby giggles and Christlike medical professionals and these flowers blooming in my front yard. What about you?

A beautiful reminder