She was up again at 2:00 a.m. After a string of nights spent lying awake, plagued by worries and concerns, she finally got up when she woke up.
Knowing that she was likely to repeat her recent pattern and only reap a lack of rest and resolution, she silently crept into a quiet nook of their home.
First, she wrote in her journal, detailing her concerns. Stress at work, financial squeezes, and some relational tensions topped the list. A sense of relief began to emerge as she finally put her finger on the source of her angst.
Then, she analyzed what she could do about any of these items and what it would take to come to peace with them. Much to her chagrin, most could not be resolved on this night. Resolution would require asking for advice, recommitting to her daily rhythms of productivity, and engaging a step by step persistence. Getting out of and through these situations would be a process, rather than a magical session of three wishes with the genie in the bottle.
Finally, she practiced a spiritual exercise that she had heard of but never tried. She prayed, “Thank you for giving me enough. Enough for today. Thank you for giving me enough love, joy, peace, discipline, courage, energy, and hope. I receive enough for today. Thank you. Amen.”
Based on the Bible story of the Israelites being fed manna (bread) in the wilderness each morning, the “enough” prayer demands a focus on one day at a time. As the story is told, the Israelites could only gather enough manna for one day. They couldn’t hoard a week’s worth. But each morning, there was enough for that day.
As she considered this, she repeated her short, simple prayer over and over until she began to believe it.
She still didn’t know how all of these worrisome situations would resolve over time, but as she slipped back into bed, she knew that she had enough to live well for this day.
With a calm mind and restful breathing, she quickly drifted back to sleep.
Worth Repeating
Shrink the change.
-The Heath Brothers
