How do we settle ourselves when life gives us lemons?

When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  This is a phrase that many of us have heard in our life.  It is the proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity.  But what if you don’t like lemonade?  I ask this question not just to be the devils advocate, but to acknowledge that making lemonade in a time of adversity is not possible for everyone.

As humans, we want to fix things and make them better.  We want to ease the pain of people we love and care about.  Unfortunately, we can’t do that every time.  Struggles in life are real and they are hard. 

I am currently reading a book titled, My Grandmother’s Hands, by Resmaa Menakem.  In Chapter 10, titled “Your Soul Nerve” he talks about how his grandmother was a strong and loving woman, but her body was frequently nervous.  Like she felt something bad was about to happen. This feeling rarely left her.  She would soothe herself by humming and rocking while she was in the kitchen.  This was a sacred ritual, imbued with meaning a purpose.  The soul nerve in the health profession is called the vagus nerve or wandering nerve.  The soul nerve (vagus nerve) reaches into most of our body and it regulates all your body’s basic functions.  Resmaa Menakem goes on to talk about how we can with practice, settle our body, and soothe ourselves during difficult or high-stress situations.  He talks about humming, belly breathing, buzzing, slow rocking, rubbing your belly, singing aloud to yourself, and more.  I want to elaborate on two, belly breathing and rubbing your belly. 

Belly breathing is where you focus on your belly, breath in and out deeply and slowly.
Follow your breath as it flows in and out of each part of your respiratory system.  Do this as you sit in a comfortable position and continue this for about 4 minutes.  Notice what you body is experiencing. 

Rubbing your belly, this may sound crazy and you may think there is no way this will work, but I tried it and I was surprised how my body felt afterword.  You place the palm of your hand on the center of your belly, relax your shoulders and slowly rub your belly for three minutes.  I was surprised how my body felt at ease and less tense.

There is a lot of tension in our world right now and so much going on that we may not understand or have control over.  I encourage you to take time to settle your body by trying one of these practices.  I pray that these practices will help when life throws lemons at you.

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber