I want to talk about something familiar to all of us right now: anxiety. Humans weren’t meant to carry what we’re carrying. Most people before us didn’t know the news of the whole world every day. We do. Every hard thing, everywhere, and our brains are exhausted.

This summer was one of the hardest seasons Zac and I have ever walked through. I had chest pain I thought was my heart, and our cardiologist friend looked at me and said, “Jennie, you’re anxious.” And he was right. My body was affected by how my mind was living. That moment was a red flag. I called my counselor, reached out to friends who pray for us, and things began to shift.

Forty million people are diagnosed with anxiety, and that number is far lower than reality. You’ve seen it in your kids, your friends, your campus. And I don’t want us to just accept this as “how it is.” I want us to be people who fight well.

2 Corinthians 10:5, taking every thought captive, began my healing as a college student struggling with an eating disorder, and it still matters today.

Please hear this: you are not alone. My counselor Kurt Thompson always says, “Trauma isn’t so much what happens to you - it’s if you feel alone in what happens to you.” So much anxiety falls away because we feel known, because we share it, because we bring people close.

God draws near to you when you feel afraid or alone. He gives wisdom, courage, and comfort. You don’t have to hide. You can fight back, and He will help you.

You’re loved. You’re seen. You don’t have to carry this alone.

With love,
Jennie