I was sent this by a friend of mine who would describe herself as some who is without faith (I struggle to even write that, because she’s also someone who has always been a hopeful, encouraging, kind and generous friend – and I think all of those things are pieces of God reflected in her!).

I’d also say about my friend that she has been following my blog, and finding comfort here even despite her lack of an articulated faith… And I find that beautiful as well.

I love what Rumi says here, because I think much of what this year is calling out of us, and necessitating in us, is a need to re-frame things. When we were quarantined and mostly staying at home, there were memes going around encouraging people to remember that they are blessed to have a home, rather than thinking that they are “stuck at home.”

Reframing is hard. It takes practice. So today I want to encourage you to practice reframing things. When a negative thought is persistently arising in your mind, stop for a moment. Ask yourself how you might change perspective on that thought to make it something with a positive aspect.

Rumi does this by reframing “I’m so isolated/alone,” into “God has sent everyone away to spend one-on-one time with me.” And that is theologically sound – God loves you enough to want to spend lots of one-on-one time with you, and God is able to do that and not abandon the other 4 Billion souls on the planet!

So what do you need to reframe? Begin with just recognizing the thoughts that need reframing. After you’ve recognized them and sat with them for a bit, then begin to think of possible reframes. The way to do that is to think of a dear friend, or a beloved child, and ask yourself how you would say that thing to them (it’s often easier to be kind to others than to ourselves!).

God loves you and wants you to be kind to yourself as well as others.

Until tomorrow, dear friends, spend some one-on-one time with God, recognize how dearly He loves you, and recognized that being kind to yourself is another way of sharing His love in this world.