Counting to Cope

”Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:1

Here we go again, wandering into the haunted house of “Troubled and Afraid,”

even when our Conscience says "Do Not Enter."

Once in, we start counting to cope:

counting the scary things around us,

counting down the minutes, and

counting the possible escape routes.

Counting can be an effective tool to cope.

It can be a "locator" for our brains to use,

like a partial map to get through a maze.

Or it can be more like a mask, keeping us from experiencing all of our senses.

Because effective coping depends

on what we're counting...

on what we're counting on.

And in the midst of the haunted house,

will counting to ten while taking that deep breath help us sense safety?

Will counting the group members around us add up to a sense of security?

When we finally get out and get into our beds that night, still afraid,

will we try counting sheep ~ an entire pasture in our minds, to dull our senses to help us sleep?

In the spirit of a Hallowed Evening,

and talk of sheep,

someOne costumed as the Good Shepherd appears.

He has sensed our need.

He sees us struggling as we "count on" the ways of the world to coax our minds away from trouble.

He feels our frustration as we try to corral our anxious thoughts.

So He names them, those pits in His pasture that we keep sinking into:

Trouble and fear.

Problems and worries.

Depression and anxiety.

And before we compulsively count all of the pits,

the Shepherd cautions: “In this world you will have trouble….”

It’s not about the “what.” No need to count: trouble is trouble. Pits are pits.

Nor does He wonder why we're counting.

(He knows full well that we are wonderfully and fearfully made.) He even uses that Shepherd’s crook to underline “fearfully,” but we still don't get it.

"What can we count?" we bleat.

”Guess Who?” the Good Shepherd asks

as there seems to be a costume-change occurring.

He exchanges His robe for the medical coat of the Great Physician.

Then He repeats the diagnosis and the prescription:

”In this world you will have trouble, but do not worry."

We might be incredulous for a moment at this nonchalance. Impatiently, we blurt out:

“Seriously? Not worry? You must not be seeing my list, Good Doctor!"

With tender compassion, never condemnation,

the Physician lets us take His time to “get it off our chests.”

Then the Heart-Scanner reads our arrhythmias and gently inquires:

“Ah, I hear your quivering; do you hear the steady beat of My heart?”

The Mind Reader notes the disorientation of our brain waves, our thinking patterns ~ and lovingly asks,

“Ah, I see your confusion; do you seek My reliable wisdom?”

He asks us to cross-check our “knowledge“ with the truly Proverbial, as He smiles:

"A joyful heart is good medicine, you know.” Proverbs 17:22

“Of course,” we assure Him, as though we understand where He's leading. But we wonder.

Is it our gratitude list He's after?

But then we proudly recall a counting technique for coping to quiet our hearts and minds.

The method of “5,4,3,2,1 Gounding” has us counting on our senses, counting down to calm when troubles and fears arise.

It has to be a winner, easy as 5,4,3,2,1.

Five things we can see, right now.

Four things we touch, right here.

Three things we can hear, in this moment.

Two things we can smell, at this time.

One thing we can taste, immediately.

And then we're calm and in the present.

Until...we're not.

We start counting again, trying to make it work-

but the Good Doctor leans in:

”In this world you will not have peace.

But do not worry: I have overcome the world.”

Wait.

Doesn't the act of feeling our human senses help in the moment?

Or is it a lop-sided bandage exposing something deeper, wider?

Costume-changing once again,

just to help us better see,

the Great Physician asks, "Guess Who?”

as He slips into the garment of the Beloved Teacher.

He observes us struggling to change the coping equation,

inserting new coping variables and

reworking the numbers on ways to calm ourselves.

Look At Me, His eyes seem to say.

”Guess Who?”

His Words contain both the question

and the answer,

as only His Words can.

Coping is not about what to count.

Guess. Who.

When it comes to coping in life's troubles and fears, there is a Way that works. For Good.

Who do we see, in the midst?

Whose presence do we choose to feel?

Whose words do we hear?

Whose aroma lingers?

Who gives tastes of Goodness even in times of trouble and fear?

Guess Who.

This is how to come to our senses,

to cope with Hope.

The Teacher gives us time,

all the time in the world,

to use our sense(s) to memorize the method:

True Coping means Counting on Him.

Can we see Him whether lounging in our comfy chair, or lying on a cot in the Emergency Room?

Do we feel His presence, whether in the aching pain of loneliness, or the bliss of an embrace?

Can we hear His voice in both the harmonies and cacophonies of the day?

Do we detect His fragrance, no matter the smells around us?

Do we taste both the sweetness in that which He gives and takes away?

Guess Who we can count on for calm?

Every time.

Guess Who deserves mention for each item on our list of gratitudes.

The Beloved Teacher makes a change into one last costume, the finale for now.

It's so bright and majestic,

so radiant and bejeweled.

It's like seeing only Light.

Sitting still while our senses adjust,

a sense of calm overcomes,

beyond our understanding,

beyond our fears,

beyond even our physical sensations.

It's the Prince of Peace,

That’s Who.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Finally, we know True safety.

At last, we feel True calm.

We breathe in the depth of this relief,

finally knowing our response.

Our Answer.

The Lord is my Light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1