January 2021
Escaping the Funk by Ron Saladin
This is the Day by Cynthia Saladin
January 2021
Escaping the Funk
by Ron Saladin
I enjoy life, generally speaking. I much prefer being a sentient being over existing as a rock. Rocks can last a long time and be quite useful, but they tend to show no emotion even when they accomplish something important, like edging your flower patch.
One reason I enjoy life is I like to accomplish things, to see a positive result for my efforts. So I was distressed recently when I considered my long list of stuff to do and I simply did not feel like I wanted to do any of it, or, even worse, anything.
I felt very conflicted. I wanted to get at least something done, but I just couldn’t get moving. It was a bit unusual for me and uncomfortable. I wondered what was wrong, and as I sat considering, one part of my brain said, “You’re in a funk.”
I’m at the age when my brain doesn’t always work as harmoniously as it once did. So another part of my brain said, “What’s a funk?” They decided to look it up.
Besides being a music genre and part of the name of a famous dictionary, the word funk has several meanings and exists a bit differently in British and American usage. The British usage can refer to a coward or avoiding a job or person or something out of fear. The American usage sees funk as being in a state of depression.
My brain agreed: I was definitely experiencing the American version. I was in a depressed funk. One part said to the other part, “Told you so.”
Knowing what I was experiencing was valuable but only if it helped to provide an escape route from the prison. In Zechariah 4:10 God asks, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” The people of God there were in a bit of a funk, if I may use my paraphrase. There was no way they could make the temple they were building to come close to the majesty of Solomon’s temple. They did not need to worry about that though; their job was to get it done.
I decided to just get something done. I picked an easy job that was overdue. I began to wade through the thick molasses-like aura still surrounding me and began to do something that needed to be done.
It was amazing.
Some two hours or so later, I had accomplished several things on my list, and I was hurrying against sundown to do more, wishing I had more time.
Maybe you’re in a funk. There’s sure lots of reasons one could point to. There’s this SARS-CoV-2 virus out there which has changed how much of the world lives. We look forward to the time things can get back to “normal.”
Maybe that will happen. Maybe it won’t.
Maybe this is the time when we will begin to experience waves of problems which just don’t fully go away. Sort of like a woman with birth pangs looking to be delivered. Here in the U.S. we are looking at our society, government, and media in shambles, a far cry from what we once were.
Some fear a civil war. There are lots of reasons to be in a funk if you look for them.
In the parable of the pounds, Jesus gave His servants an order to “Occupy till I come.” In other words, keep busy, do your business. Their occupying was to be productive for the Master, accomplishing something worthwhile regardless of the time in which they lived.
There’s lots of ways to obey that order. As long as you’re not in a funk.
I do not presume I am revealing any new information here. Most of us, if not all, have experienced what I have described. Nevertheless, we humans have a tendency to forget sometimes the solutions to the problems that plague us.
In a funk? Try doing something easy which does need to be done. Don’t discount small starts or lesser projects. Take appropriate action and watch the blimp of funkiness deflate. Just start. Who knows? Maybe God will notice and get involved with your efforts.
It does seem to me, at least at times, God enjoys starting small and building.
After all, isn’t that what He is doing with us?
❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎
This is the Day by Cynthia Saladin
We humans have a hard time finding the right balance. Like a pendulum, we tend to swing back and forth, never quite finding the middle ground of moderation in all things. Take, for instance, the tension that exists between setting goals and looking to the future vs. being content in the moment and enjoying the trip.
One of the best parts of going to the Feast of Tabernacles when I was a kid was leaving a couple of weeks early and taking our time getting to the Feast. One year we drove through Glacier National Park and up into Canada. One year we visited Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon on our way to Tucson. One of my favorite memories of the Feast in Colorado Springs in 1981 was finding a waterfall, unexpectedly, and stopping to explore.
But most of life isn’t like that. You don’t take the time to do something off agenda. When you’re young, you want to be 16 so you can get your driver’s license. Then you start planning where you’re going to go to college. All of school is set up with goals, milestones to meet. First we conquer this curriculum/textbook, then we go onto the next. We mold our offspring into setting goals and working hard to achieve them. Even decades removed from college, I’m still working on those goals. Most of the time, I have a to-do list that has more than seventeen things on it! For each day! I have a goal to accomplish and I’m determined to meet that goal.
And that’s not a bad thing. It’s important to lead a productive life. But The List can’t take over my life. When it does, because it’s easy to become addicted to the feelings of accomplishment, then you lose the spontaneity of enjoying the little things that crop up unexpectedly. You become so focused on the future (your life, your children’s lives, the country, etc) that you become almost immobilized by worry. You plow full steam ahead into taking anxious thought about tomorrow. And in the process, you miss the joy from finding a frost flower early in the morning, or seeing a deer poking her head out at the edge of the trees, or just being quiet in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate. You can’t become so driven that it takes over your life and you neglect to be still and know that He is God.
There’s a quietness and peace which comes from withdrawing from the hubbub and chaos around you, taking time to seek God and be in His presence daily. The God who created fragrant roses expects us to smell them as we pass by. He expects us to enjoy the flavors of the food He has provided. He must delight in the antics of our pets as much as we do - He’s the One who created them to be such fun creatures! What a huge insult not to enjoy and thank God for the abundance of all things!!
It occurred to me that our lives have to be like my teaching/plan book. Each summer I sit down and prayerfully consider the courses I’m going to be teaching my kids. But I would never dream of getting out my plan book and writing down in INK what we’re going to do each day of each week for the whole school year. I do know some teachers and homeschool parents who tried doing that. But they only made that mistake once! There are too many things (called life) that interferes with what we think we’re going to be able to accomplish. Now you can either be flexible and embrace unexpected, or you can get really stressed because things aren’t going the way you planned. Seems almost ludicrous when you put it in those terms, doesn’t it? And yet, isn’t that what we tend to do our entire lives. We have a plan and when things don’t go according to plan, we get all bent out of shape.
I can’t help but come back to Psalm 118:24: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Doesn’t it make you think: regardless of what tasks you have before you, regardless of what unplanned detours you may be taking, God is still in control. He’s sovereign. There’s nothing that is happening to you that is a surprise to Him. So be prudent. Make plans. But be flexible in the unexpected. Enjoy the life God has given us. And strive for moderation in all things, knowing that we’re to be about the Father’s business, to His glory and honor.
Escaping the Funk by Ron Saladin
This is the Day by Cynthia Saladin
January 2021
Escaping the Funk
by Ron Saladin
I enjoy life, generally speaking. I much prefer being a sentient being over existing as a rock. Rocks can last a long time and be quite useful, but they tend to show no emotion even when they accomplish something important, like edging your flower patch.
One reason I enjoy life is I like to accomplish things, to see a positive result for my efforts. So I was distressed recently when I considered my long list of stuff to do and I simply did not feel like I wanted to do any of it, or, even worse, anything.
I felt very conflicted. I wanted to get at least something done, but I just couldn’t get moving. It was a bit unusual for me and uncomfortable. I wondered what was wrong, and as I sat considering, one part of my brain said, “You’re in a funk.”
I’m at the age when my brain doesn’t always work as harmoniously as it once did. So another part of my brain said, “What’s a funk?” They decided to look it up.
Besides being a music genre and part of the name of a famous dictionary, the word funk has several meanings and exists a bit differently in British and American usage. The British usage can refer to a coward or avoiding a job or person or something out of fear. The American usage sees funk as being in a state of depression.
My brain agreed: I was definitely experiencing the American version. I was in a depressed funk. One part said to the other part, “Told you so.”
Knowing what I was experiencing was valuable but only if it helped to provide an escape route from the prison. In Zechariah 4:10 God asks, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” The people of God there were in a bit of a funk, if I may use my paraphrase. There was no way they could make the temple they were building to come close to the majesty of Solomon’s temple. They did not need to worry about that though; their job was to get it done.
I decided to just get something done. I picked an easy job that was overdue. I began to wade through the thick molasses-like aura still surrounding me and began to do something that needed to be done.
It was amazing.
Some two hours or so later, I had accomplished several things on my list, and I was hurrying against sundown to do more, wishing I had more time.
Maybe you’re in a funk. There’s sure lots of reasons one could point to. There’s this SARS-CoV-2 virus out there which has changed how much of the world lives. We look forward to the time things can get back to “normal.”
Maybe that will happen. Maybe it won’t.
Maybe this is the time when we will begin to experience waves of problems which just don’t fully go away. Sort of like a woman with birth pangs looking to be delivered. Here in the U.S. we are looking at our society, government, and media in shambles, a far cry from what we once were.
Some fear a civil war. There are lots of reasons to be in a funk if you look for them.
In the parable of the pounds, Jesus gave His servants an order to “Occupy till I come.” In other words, keep busy, do your business. Their occupying was to be productive for the Master, accomplishing something worthwhile regardless of the time in which they lived.
There’s lots of ways to obey that order. As long as you’re not in a funk.
I do not presume I am revealing any new information here. Most of us, if not all, have experienced what I have described. Nevertheless, we humans have a tendency to forget sometimes the solutions to the problems that plague us.
In a funk? Try doing something easy which does need to be done. Don’t discount small starts or lesser projects. Take appropriate action and watch the blimp of funkiness deflate. Just start. Who knows? Maybe God will notice and get involved with your efforts.
It does seem to me, at least at times, God enjoys starting small and building.
After all, isn’t that what He is doing with us?
❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎
This is the Day by Cynthia Saladin
We humans have a hard time finding the right balance. Like a pendulum, we tend to swing back and forth, never quite finding the middle ground of moderation in all things. Take, for instance, the tension that exists between setting goals and looking to the future vs. being content in the moment and enjoying the trip.
One of the best parts of going to the Feast of Tabernacles when I was a kid was leaving a couple of weeks early and taking our time getting to the Feast. One year we drove through Glacier National Park and up into Canada. One year we visited Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon on our way to Tucson. One of my favorite memories of the Feast in Colorado Springs in 1981 was finding a waterfall, unexpectedly, and stopping to explore.
But most of life isn’t like that. You don’t take the time to do something off agenda. When you’re young, you want to be 16 so you can get your driver’s license. Then you start planning where you’re going to go to college. All of school is set up with goals, milestones to meet. First we conquer this curriculum/textbook, then we go onto the next. We mold our offspring into setting goals and working hard to achieve them. Even decades removed from college, I’m still working on those goals. Most of the time, I have a to-do list that has more than seventeen things on it! For each day! I have a goal to accomplish and I’m determined to meet that goal.
And that’s not a bad thing. It’s important to lead a productive life. But The List can’t take over my life. When it does, because it’s easy to become addicted to the feelings of accomplishment, then you lose the spontaneity of enjoying the little things that crop up unexpectedly. You become so focused on the future (your life, your children’s lives, the country, etc) that you become almost immobilized by worry. You plow full steam ahead into taking anxious thought about tomorrow. And in the process, you miss the joy from finding a frost flower early in the morning, or seeing a deer poking her head out at the edge of the trees, or just being quiet in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate. You can’t become so driven that it takes over your life and you neglect to be still and know that He is God.
There’s a quietness and peace which comes from withdrawing from the hubbub and chaos around you, taking time to seek God and be in His presence daily. The God who created fragrant roses expects us to smell them as we pass by. He expects us to enjoy the flavors of the food He has provided. He must delight in the antics of our pets as much as we do - He’s the One who created them to be such fun creatures! What a huge insult not to enjoy and thank God for the abundance of all things!!
It occurred to me that our lives have to be like my teaching/plan book. Each summer I sit down and prayerfully consider the courses I’m going to be teaching my kids. But I would never dream of getting out my plan book and writing down in INK what we’re going to do each day of each week for the whole school year. I do know some teachers and homeschool parents who tried doing that. But they only made that mistake once! There are too many things (called life) that interferes with what we think we’re going to be able to accomplish. Now you can either be flexible and embrace unexpected, or you can get really stressed because things aren’t going the way you planned. Seems almost ludicrous when you put it in those terms, doesn’t it? And yet, isn’t that what we tend to do our entire lives. We have a plan and when things don’t go according to plan, we get all bent out of shape.
I can’t help but come back to Psalm 118:24: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Doesn’t it make you think: regardless of what tasks you have before you, regardless of what unplanned detours you may be taking, God is still in control. He’s sovereign. There’s nothing that is happening to you that is a surprise to Him. So be prudent. Make plans. But be flexible in the unexpected. Enjoy the life God has given us. And strive for moderation in all things, knowing that we’re to be about the Father’s business, to His glory and honor.
