At church this morning, the pastor emeritus was talking about praying
before entering a situation, and knowing that God is with us through
it.
I am believing in that more nowadays than I have in the past. Maybe
that’s because I am not in stressful social or academic settings as much
nowadays. In the past, I would pray at the beginning of the day, and
the day would still turn out pretty badly. But I am finding that, at
least currently, praying does put my mind into a more positive state.
That is helpful in a time when my main enemy is myself and my own
resentments, my disappointments, and my fears.
A wise lady said something years ago that has popped into my mind
more than once in recent days. She said that one way she copes with the
day is by resolving at the beginning of each day that a certain
situation will not get her down. That allows her to feel more
empowered. I think that sort of approach can help me, in that I can
resolve to be prepared for whatever situation I may face, rather than
allowing it to take me by surprise. The thing is, though, we can’t be
prepared for everything that we will encounter each day. But that’s why
retrospective prayer and reflection can be important.