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All Good Things....

Stealing the title of Star Trek's TNG finale. It was a great two-parter. My favorite scene is the last one. Captain Picard, who's never joined the officer's weekly poker game before, shows up and asks if he can play. They welcome him to the table and hand him the deck. I forget what game he called and what cards were wild, though I remember him ending with "and the sky's the limit."

That's a neat sentiment to end on. Does the sky have a limit? I suppose it depends on how one defines "sky". There's certainly scientific terms to differentiate the layers and types of clouds and atmosphere levels, but that seems a rather dry way to explain the sky. Poets speak of the sky and the heavens, sometimes interchangeably and other times as distinct places. There's children everywhere who've dreamed of flying, by plane or space shuttle or fighter jet through an endless view of blue.

That leads my thoughts the Never Ending Story. Atreyu is tasked with traveling beyond the limits of Fantasia's borders. When he meets up with Falcor, the flying luck dragon, it would seem that all they have to do it fly and they'll make it there. Of course, this is a hero's journey with a villainous Nothingness, which gobbles up the sky, the land and nearly everything before Atreyu can physically travel beyond the borders of Fantasia.

What if there had been no Nothing? Where would Atreyu and Falcor found themselves? I like to think they'd have had many more adventures trying to find the borders of Fantasia, except of course that the Childlike Empress tells Atreyu near the climax of the movie that Fantasia has no borders. Fantasia is a land made from the imagination of humankind and thus has no end, no limits, no boundaries to pass.

Right now, my anxiety seems to have no limit. My stress, my seclusion, and boredom have no limits as well. What can I do in the face of enemies that seem to be so powerful and limitless? How do I conquer anxiety that stretches across and up the sky?

I'm hanging onto hope. I'm trusting God and hanging onto my faith in Jesus. One of the verses I know very well (but often forget the address for) is John 16:33. Jesus says to the disciples, 
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
What has Jesus been telling his disciples in the previous verses? He's been extolling on God's love for them, that their soon grief at his leaving (death on the cross) to return to Heaven would become joy, and that when they prayed they should pray in Jesus's name to God. And God would answer them! 

In these previous verses he also promised he would not leave his disciples and believers without comfort or hope; Jesus promises that his ascension back heaven will send the Holy Spirit to earth to be their helper, their guide in all truth and their conscience. (Past two paragraphs info from John 16:4b-24.)

So my dysthymia is rearing it's ugly head. I may not be able to sleep well, or fall asleep quickly. I may cry more and be more emotional. I may overeat or under-eat. BUT I will not lose my hope and I will always keep fighting, even on the days I feel like I'm losing. Because Jesus has overcome my troubles already and he's never failed me before. He won't start now. This too shall pass.

Comments

  1. Heartfelt and your comments resonate with me. We are all experiencing a storm of anxiety that is challenging our beliefs in ourselves, our society and our faith. I love your closing line: this too shall pass.

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