Mental Blocks & Letting Go...
Lately, I’ve struggled to finish my blog posts. I started a post that was supposed to center the work of Act Justly Lover Mercy, but I’ve been unable to complete it. I keep starting and stopping. Thinking, blanking, overthinking. Anyone who has created anything knows the feeling when the words or creativity doesn’t flow like it used to. This phenomenon in writing is referred to as writer’s block. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.” It’s all psychological. My fingers are working properly. My computer works fine. I can write and think about many other things, but over the last couple of weeks, I haven’t been able to finish a blog post.
Why? Because I’m in my head. Thinking about life and change. Overthinking things outside of my control. Anxious. Fearful even. I’m admitting these things because I’m not the only person who gets stuck in their head. Too self-aware or self-absorbed.
But.
I've been working on surrendering. In this world, there are very few things that you can control. You can't control others. You can't control outcomes. You can't control today or tomorrow. Like Andre 3000 said, "You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather." Yeah, I'm sorry, Ms. Jackson. 😉 There is something very freeing about surrendering control. Now, I don't mean dropping or neglecting responsibility; that's not surrendering; that's being defeated. Surrendering is giving up control and the outcome to something or someone greater than you. When you surrender, you put your trust or faith in another.
Faith.
Dr. Tony Evans describes faith as “acting like God is telling the truth.” The scriptures are filled with an admonishment for us to “put our faith in God.” What does that mean? It means to trust. To trust that though I can’t control the future, I know the one who holds the future. It means focusing more on self-control and my responsibility than on how other people respond. It means being strong and courageous when I am tempted to cower and become fearful. Why? Because I am not alone.
Never.
“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5, CSB). Discontentment often leads to dissatisfaction, which makes us feel alone or forsaken (as the New King James Version would say). We have this promise, and we will never be left alone. So, I decided that I won’t allow fear to stop me in life or writing.
Stop.