“Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright…”

I don’t know about you, but for me, this year has been anything but calm and bright. With a pandemic, protests, politics, and all the polarity around them, not to mention the general everyday worries and cares compounded by them, many of us are filled with anxiety, worry, grief, pain, or depression. 

In times like these, it’s good to remember that there have always been times like these. In fact, our Prince of Peace was born into a time like much like ours. It was a time of uncertainty, of division, and of injustice. 

In that time, Mary, a girl as young as 13 years old, had dreams and plans of marrying Joseph, starting a family, following the traditional path of a good Jewish girl in the first century. She and Joseph are engaged, and as good as married when she receives an angelic visitor who announces that she will become pregnant with the Messiah, the promised rescuer of her people. Have you ever stopped to think that it didn’t seem she had much of a choice? It will turn her whole world upside down. She will be seen as an adulterer, a social outcast, and it will threaten to tear her relationship with her fiancee apart. It seems that this Prince of Peace will disrupt a lot of expectations as He enters this world. 

Despite all that, Mary is able to trust Her good, good Father in Heaven. Her response to this good news is what the mental health profession calls grounding techniques, but the Christian community would call spiritual disciplines. She grounds herself in the love and care of the God of Heaven (I love it when the sciences catch up with God’s word). She grounds herself in the present reality of God’s goodness, rather than letting the future “what ifs”, or current circumstances dominate her heart and mind.

 Here are three practices for you to try when feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, or sadness. 

1. Call on a trusted friend (Luke 1:39-45)

We might say Mary sought out fellowship. When she felt troubled and anxious, she sought out a godly supportive relationship, her relative Elizabeth, someone she could trust, to get wise counsel, to have a conversation with to help her get grounded in her current reality, rather than worry about what might happen. She took control of her situation and sought out a friend. Who are your people? Who can you call, text, or Zoom with that can point you to the Prince of Peace, encourage you, pray for you? Write these names down.

2. Meditate on God’s word (Luke 1:46-55)

When you read Mary’s song, what we know as the “Magnificat”, and compare it to Hanna’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and many of the Psalms of thanksgiving, it’s obvious that Mary knows God’s word. It’s taken up residence in her heart and mind, and in a situation full of confusion and overwhelm she stops and meditates upon His word to bring her peace. That peace is based upon His promises, His presence, and His power in her life and throughout human history. What promises in His word will you meditate upon in stress, and fear? Where in His word can you rest your heart and mind, and focus your thoughts on His presence and promises rather than your circumstances? 

3. Use your voice (Luke 1:46-55)

In this same passage, we see Mary putting song and music to her meditations. She worships God and speaks truth to herself about Who He is and what He’s done. Like the Psalmist who says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” Mary talks to herself, and gets out of her head, rather than listen to the voices that cause worry or fear to take up residence in her soul. She takes the focus off her circumstances and places it on the One who can do something about them and is with her in them. Who literally is in her and Who came into all the chaos to redeem it. What are the songs of praise and worship that speak to you, which you can sing over yourself? Are there passages you can read to yourself? 

Write these things down. Tape them on your bathroom mirror, stick them on your refrigerator. Ground yourself in the Prince of Peace Who comes into the world to be with you, and in you, to bring you peace in the chaos.