Frozen In Time
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“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
This winter I agree with the bears. Hibernation for the winter is sounding pretty good right now. With the below zero temperatures and unusual snow accumulation in the South and blizzard conditions in the northeast, being curled up asleep seems like a great option. In this current polar vortex, life seems to stop. Schools and businesses close and events are cancelled. Staying inside a warm house seems to be the choice of many people. Some of you find it cozy and enjoy the time inside to do fun activities and tasks. Others of you just shut down and spend mindless time scrolling social media or binge watching something on TV. The cold has frozen your motivation.
There are situations in our lives that seem to freeze us in time. That is, we are hyper-focused on the situation and the rest of life does not seem to matter. When we are in the middle of cancer treatments and illness, life feels frozen in the disease. When a tragedy has happened, life is at a standstill, and you are numb to what is around you. In grief, life seems to be frozen in time. Every reference is based either on life before the loss or after the loss. You begin a story by saying, “That was before he died.” “That happened after the fire.” Life is frozen in time in a calamity or trauma.
Relationships may also hibernate for a while because of distance in miles or distance through life changes. Like a bear, friendships may awaken for a period of time. You connect the past into the present and remember. Sometimes these moments create a continuous relationship and other times just for a brief moment. You remember and cherish the memory, but life has moved in different directions.
When you experience loss and change, you feel like you want to hibernate from life. Life is so different, and you cannot grasp how to live into this new way of life. This hibernation is like a resting state. You may remain active on the surface and complete tasks and the necessities of life, but inside you are a jumbled-up mess of feelings, emotions, and indescribable confusion. Life stopped moving forward and you want to curl up and just stay where life changed. It seems impossible to function. So, for some of you, the change and loss has become your reality, and you are choosing to just rest in life right where the hurt happened. That is fine for now. Rest. Hibernate.
The reality is that life does go on. The bears wake up. Winter turns into Spring. Events happen again. The winter freeze thaws. But life does not go back to normal after any type of loss, disease, or change. Life is now different in every aspect, and you get to decide, “Do I stay frozen in the life I had and allow fear to take control?” That is, do you just exist and function in life and retreat into your loneliness and empty familiarity?
Listen to the bears. Be in a resting state for a period of healing time. Give yourself permission to rest, to heal, to feel, to reflect, to pray, to release. The bears know life goes on. When they awaken, life around them may have changed, but they adjust and continue with life. They learn to live in the moment in front of them. Learn to live in the moments in front of you.
You cannot take steps into this different life alone. God is your light and salvation. God directs your path and gives you grace. God is your stronghold – your foundation, your strength and protection. Begin to thaw. Trust God in this different. God walks into your hibernation and frozen state and takes you by the hand. You have a desire to move forward and trust, but you have no strength or motivation. The strength to take steps forward come from God’s Spirit that is within you.
Hibernate for a while if you need. Allow the God’s healing spirit to thaw your heart. Hope forward.
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