You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind in stayed on you. Because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
I recently wrote on a family group chat, “That’s the great thing about being a Christian, we celebrate Christ the day after Christmas and every day. Christ gives us joy, and in the hard times he’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
I lost my oldest niece during the Christmas holiday. Because I’m the youngest of four, I wasn’t much older than my niece. I remember when she came home from the hospital. I remember holding her tiny three-pound, four-ounce body and feeding her a tiny bottle. When she grew stronger like other toddlers, I remember watching her take her first sprint down the hallway. She went from taking steps to running. She later ran track in high school.
During my recent winter break from teaching, I felt like my heart was pulled in two places. I wanted to celebrate all the special things about Christmas with my household in Georgia, but I also needed space to mourn the unexpected loss of my niece with my family of origin in Arizona, especially my sister. People throw around the terms bipolar and schizophrenic these days, and maybe we do see those disorders more frequently. I certainly felt high highs and low lows these last several weeks. So as I write this, I’m reminded of a saying I first heard as a youth: “Jesus is a mind regulator.” When I was a tween, it seemed funny, like just something older people say. But recently I’ve needed Jesus to keep me in my “right mind” as I’ve thought through the circumstances of my niece’s death, which came just six months after the death of her own only son.
For anyone who has experienced deep sadness this holiday season of Christmas and New Year’s, I hope you read this and ask Jesus to be your mind regulator. I don’t know how He does it. I don’t know how he does half the things that I’ve experienced in my Christian walk. I just know that I’ve got to keep walking with Him. I hope you will too.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
