In times of trouble - Putting one foot in front of the other

When the world around us feels broken, it's often hard to make sense of things, to process disaster, and to keep moving forward with the day to day things.

Empathy can be a gift, but it has a kicker side, a 'too far' element.

The recent floods and cyclone have wreaked havoc across our country. A 1 in 100 weather event according to experts.

The first weather event was pretty localised in Auckland, Waikato and North land, but for those outside the area affected, the ripples were felt across the country as resources were sent in.

Then 2 weeks on, cyclone Gabrielle hit. This weather system was bigger than the landmass and was going to hit us all.

Where I live, we hunkered down waiting for it to come our way, the weather warnings were in place. We watched as other parts of our North Island were destroyed, homes under water, falling down cliffs, mass evacuations, people losing their lives, many missing.

We had heavy rain and some wind but really escaped un touched by comparison.

The devastation is close enough through people I know etc, to feel immense sadness and fear, but far enough away for it to all feel surreal.

It's times like this, when there is not much else left to do but pray, chip in where we can with donations, assist with what we can and pray some more.

It's at times like these, when life gets very dark, and hard, that I am grateful I believe in God. Believing inn something bigger than myself and hold a belief that we are merely caretakers on this earth, that forces of nature are beyond our control and sometimes we get reminded of the power of those forces.

The media hooks in on the scenes of destruction daily with fear mongering, emotion evoking headlines, click bait. Not usually a news reader, I have found myself reading more than usual, due to my job but also that is what you do in a National state of emergency.

The more I read, the more heavy I feel.

The bible says we should feel others for others

Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep"

It's easy to fall into the trap of taking the weight of this situation on our shoulders and carry what we were not meant to, I know I can fall into that very quickly.

Empathy can be a gift, but it has a kicker side, a 'too far' element.

When we lose ourselves in feeling others' pain, that's when it becomes dangerous and renders us exhausted and useless.

I have found, learning to ask God to help process the feelings and asking him to show me what he wants me to do with the emotion. Turning emotion into action is a powerful thing.

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"

Some of the biggest changes in our world have been fueled by strong emotions.

If you find yourself, like I do, drowning in sadness and emotions of other people's tragic situations and becoming immobilised.

Here are some things I do to get myself unstuck and into action.

• Stop and take time to pray, ask for God to lift the burdens in your mind, ask him to show you what he wants you to do with those thoughts and emotions.

• Go for a walk and clear your head. 10 mins walking in nature can change your brain chemistry. It's been proven.

• Focus on the things you can control in your life, your thoughts, mindset, choices around movement and food, getting involved where you can, find the people doing stuff and volunteer.

• Limit news feed scrolling on social media or mainstream media sources, be careful with what you read and digest. Including Netflix content that is not uplifting and life giving.

• Talk it out, then move through to action, get with someone trusted and talk about how you feel, a problem shared is a problem halved.

• If you need to cry, then cry. I am a crier, it's part of who I am. If I bottle it up it leaks out at weird and inappropriate times, just have a good cry. Then move through.

The goal I have for challenging situations in my life is to always move through it to the other side, the action side with God's help this is always easier than alone.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Arohanui

Jen