{"id":945,"date":"2017-06-01T15:14:33","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T23:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/?p=945"},"modified":"2017-06-07T06:35:58","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T14:35:58","slug":"keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Faith in the Midst of Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"resistanceI\u2019m going to get political here because, like a Cecily Strong character on Saturday Night Live said recently, \u201cI want one day without a CNN alert that scares the hell out of me, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m afraid and it\u2019s hard to keep the faith. Most of the people I know are afraid and many of those I work with in spiritual direction are afraid or at least bothered by threatened cuts to Medicaid, health insurance benefits, disability insurance; a federal budget that cuts taxes on the wealthiest people while taking away government subsidies to the poorest; heightened discrimination against Muslims, undocumented immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ persons and women; and on-going revelations about how Russia most likely interfered with our election process.<\/p>\n

How do we keep believing that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice in the midst of news alerts that scare the hell out of us?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t pretend to have the answer for everyone, but here\u2019s what is working for me these days:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Reading sacred texts that promise God\u2019s justice will win in the end.<\/strong> A few that are helpful include \u201cpride goes before destruction\u201d (Proverbs 16:18), \u201clet justice roll down like a river\u201d (Amos 5:24) and the angry Psalms that cry out to God for justice (Psalm 10:1, 22:1, 42:9). New Testament stories where Jesus emphasizes that the last shall be first and the first shall be last (such as Matthew 20:16) are comforting as well.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Meditation.<\/strong> Taking 10 minutes here and there throughout the day especially when I\u2019m overwhelmed by news I find upsetting helps me gain perspective. Simply being in the present moment, listening to the ambient sounds in the room, concentrating on my breathing brings me to a place of greater peace.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Rational thought.<\/strong> I know this sounds like a no-brainer but review is always helpful. Many of our fears come from those \u201cwhat if?\u201d questions we dwell on. Instead, look\u00a0at what is actually happening and how it affects us right now. So far, very little has happened! The anti-Muslim travel ban was stopped in federal court, the proposed budget has not been accepted, the Affordable Health Care act is pretty much intact (although suffering from malicious neglect), and the Paris Climate Agreement that our President just withdrew the U.S. from\u00a0doesn\u2019t go into effect until 2020. Most of what I fear is in the future. One exception is the increased deportations of undocumented immigrants. That is happening right now and is being fought on many fronts. My rational thinking also reminds me that a great many people in our country are resisting the bulk of these proposed changes\u2014so it\u2019s not like one side has all <\/em>the power.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \u00a0<\/p>\n

        As a Christian, I am taught\u00a0that the road toward justice is never easy. That was borne out by the life and death of Jesus. My prayer is that people seeking justice for the poor, sick, elderly, alienated and displaced will become stronger as we band together and make our voices heard.<\/p>\n

        Keeping faith in the midst of fear is a challenge. But I will choose faith every time.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Want to try\u00a0spiritual direction? I have openings in my schedule for new directees\u2014regardless of where you live. I can work by phone, Skype or if you live in the Phoenix metro area we can meet in person.\u00a0Contact me at\u00a0teresa@teresablythe.net<\/a>\u00a0 or visit\u00a0www.teresablythe.net<\/a>.\u00a0 Also visit my website for the\u00a0Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s easy to subscribe to this blog and get updates in your email inbox. Check out the right side of the webpage and fill out the form under GET PATHEOS NEWSLETTERS.\u00a0New posts come to your inbox when published.<\/p>\n

        Thank you for following this blog!<\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I\u2019m going to get political here because, like a Cecily Strong character on Saturday Night Live said recently, \u201cI want one day without a CNN alert that scares the hell out of me, all right?\u201d Yes, I\u2019m afraid and it\u2019s hard to keep the faith. Most of the people I know are afraid and many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1083,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,89,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-spiritual-direction","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nKeeping Faith in the Midst of Fear<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do we keep believing that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice in the midst of news alerts that scare the hell out of us?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keeping Faith in the Midst of Fear\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How do we keep believing that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice in the midst of news alerts that scare the hell out of us?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spiritual Direction 101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/phxcsd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-01T23:14:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-06-07T14:35:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/files\/2017\/04\/trump-protestors-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Teresa Blythe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Teresa Blythe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/\",\"name\":\"Keeping Faith in the Midst of Fear\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-01T23:14:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-07T14:35:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70\"},\"description\":\"How do we keep believing that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice in the midst of news alerts that scare the hell out of us?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2017\/06\/keeping-faith-in-the-midst-of-fear\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Keeping Faith in the Midst of Fear\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/\",\"name\":\"Spiritual Direction 101\",\"description\":\"How to Hear God, Every Day\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70\",\"name\":\"Teresa Blythe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Teresa Blythe\"},\"description\":\"Teresa Blythe is a full-time spiritual director and ordained UCC minister living and working in Phoenix, AZ. 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