Have you ever had to tell yourself, "AHT! AHT!"?  You know, like what you tell a baby when he reaches for the outlet? Like when a child attempts to touch the pot on the stove? I will bring it closer to home. Like when you read an email and you really want to respond with a nice-nasty reply? You know what I mean. Driving down the street and that person cuts you off just to make the next turn and NO ONE was behind you? Yes, that aht-aht! Sometimes, taking a deep breath just does not work.  What about those deeper issues and times when it is only you. Times when people are oblivious to what they did to you. Maybe, they did not do a thing. The times in our lives when we have literally convinced ourselves that nobody cares for us. Times when old feelings want to crip into our emotions and carry us away. Moments when we have truly been offended, yet we do not address it. We just waddled in self-pity and bitterness.  All of these moments can have many roots but God gives ...

I spoke with someone today that has been having a difficult time lately. The call was actually a return call about a business-related matter. We started talking and the individual began sharing the difficulty they've been experiencing over the last few months. As you can imagine, we are all experiencing some type of increased mental strain while navigating COVID-19! As this individual began to share the experience, I reflected on my own experiences. I began to share how I experienced high levels of stress and anxiety at the start of the pandemic. I shared my frustrations about the situations that were similar. I shared the moments when all I could do was cry out, JESUS! The moments when I just listened to the word of God on my bible. The moments when I just let the meditation music play through the night in my earbuds. The individual gave a sigh of relief, began to cry, and said, "I thought I was the only one going through this." We immediately went into praye...