On behalf of the 63d Readiness Division
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters,
One of my favorite scriptures that I constantly draw on for strength, comes from 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Especially during this season of COVID, it has been an important reminder to maintaining my equilibrium, when the world around us has been unstable and unpredictable.
This weekend, I noted human behavior to newsworthy events. For the sake of discussion, I will use an example that is not exactly earth shattering, but I do think it illustrates the point quite nicely.
Early on in the pandemic, folks rushed to the store to buy toilet paper, and inadvertently ended up hoarding it. I must admit, I did go to the store and buy 1 extra 18-roll container (the usual size I buy to save money per roll), but I did refrain from buying what I would say was more than my fair share. And frankly I wouldn’t have had room to store multiple bundles of 18-roll toilet paper in my little apartment…
And when we ran out of milk, and other goods, limits were placed on how many items we could buy when it did become available, to try to stop the hoarding. I did manage to not stock up on food, but there was anxiety wondering how and when it was all going to play out exactly.
And last week there was a shortage of gasoline in a few states. Shortages in 65% of all gas stations in North Carolina, 42% in Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina were without gasoline, according to GasBuddy, and by Saturday night, 75% of Washington DC was without gas. All due to a ransom ware attack that shut down Colonial Pipeline, a critical artery of the nation’s gas.
The part that I found interesting, is not so much what we don’t have or potentially what we stand to lose, but what our human response is to these events.
18-months ago we hoarded toilet paper, and the concern over gas this past week has sent Americans to the gas pumps. The immediate impact, like we saw with the toilet paper, is a shortage, pushing the price up significantly. Which is another reason to go fill up our tanks, who knows how high the prices will go…?
So how are we supposed to respond to these events? That is the real question.
The reality is if I don’t have gas in my truck, then I can’t go to work, and if I can’t go to work, I could lose my job. And if I lose my job, I could lose my house, or my car, or something else I can no longer pay for. Or the kids can’t go to school, then they fall behind, and there is a snowball effect of potential outcomes.
I use this as an innocuous example, but the reality is, there are plenty of things that continue to come our way that do give us reason to pause and to be concerned.
It can be a mental runaway train, when we fret over these potential losses and the cause and effect. More than anything, it causes a level of stress and anxiety which can result in the increased production of cortisol, and that takes a toll on our bodies, minds, and spirits. And frankly we have had 18+ months of that level of constant anxiety.
It has been costly, and the impact on us is to our health. Too much cortisol can cause weight gain, severe fatigue, slow healing, muscle weakness, irritability, high blood pressure, headaches, and difficulty concentrating to name a few of the potential problems.
So what do we do? My encouragement to us all is to be SELF-AWARE, to practice self-awareness. Self-aware of how we are feeling, how we are managing the stress of these unknowns, and their impacts.
And if we find ourselves stressing out, figure out what strategies help us manage it best. Is it exercise? Meditation? Breathing? Focusing on the positive, in our lives? For me, it’s all of the above.
More than anything though, I remember the promises of God, that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind. We can have courage and we can have faith, for He is trustworthy.
We can be strong, and we can be generous. We do not have to live in fear. We can be bold and we can be confident, because our God empowers us to be so. We do not have to waiver or have a crisis of confidence or faith.
Today let us remember to be encouraged, and perhaps to encourage someone else to stay positive, and to stay strong. We have come a long way and together we will prevail. We are not alone.
Prayer for the day:
Lord, we stand on Your promises, and we are confident on who You are. We are not alone, and through You, we will prevail. Thank you, that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Thanks be to God, Amen.
CH (MAJ) Morsan McSweeney
Here is the direct email and phone number for anyone requesting support from the 63d RD Chaplain office,
usarmy.usarc.63-rsc.list.chaplain-all-users@mail.mil
650-526-9668