Elmo simply asked a question, “How is everybody doing?” Elmo was just checking in. The precocious perpetually three and a half year old darling of Sesame Street decided to go on X (formerly Twitter) and check in on everybody during the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic.. What he received was a response that I don't think the Children's Television Workshop team expected. Now some people responded that they were “thriving” or “unbothered.” However, others poured out an emotional dumpster fire piled high with the overwhelming pain that people were going through.

A torrent of despair was just below the surface for so many people. Feelings of burn out, feeling neglected, unfulfilled, unloved or at one's wit's end.

I'm not going to jump on anyone who poured out their pain on poor Elmo.

Like so many adults, I grew up on Sesame Street. I learned to read and count there. It was a safe place to grow and learn about my feelings and to make mistakes. I was a child when the original Mr. Hooper died and had to be written out of the show. The Sesame Street family decided to deal with his passing openly and brought us little ones into the conversation. I learned about how to deal with death and grieving from the cast of Sesame Street. Through the screen they held my little hand and walked me through some tough spots. We learned how to solve some pretty big big problems together. Elmo and the crew have been my friends for a long time.

Sometimes we forget that our old friends that we grew up with on Sesame Street, did not grow old with us. We grew up, they stayed the same, but the feeling of having a safe space to run to remained.

Having safe spaces as children and as adults is important. We all need to have spaces where we are truly seen, fully heard and where our emotions are unjudged. Especially after the isolation and challenges that we experienced trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes of this decade have been overwhelming for so many people. These past few years we have experienced loss and grief. We had to redefine what normal looked like in our homes and in our communities. Safe places have felt few and far in between. Anxiety and overwhelm have become prevalent.

The feeling of being overwhelmed quieted my pen for a while. Nothing could come out. Not because there wasn't anything to write about but just trying to survive on an essential level shut down my desire to write even though that desire was essential to who I am and how I function. I needed to remember that I did have a safe place to run and you do too.

But there is a safe place where we can run.

Jesus said, “Come unto Me all you that labor and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and learn from, from I am meek and lowly of heart and you will find rest unto your soul. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

When our burdens feel overwhelming we can run to Him. Jesus wants us to see Him as the ultimate safe space for our problems and our pain. He is not there with judgment, but with comfort. Our pain may not disappear, but He has promised to walk through it with us.

When life became more than I could bear, I ran right to Him and I heard his gentle voice give me both comfort and instruction. “Go to therapy.” There were both spiritual and practical tools that I needed in order to survive the season that I am in. That instruction kept me from into the bottom of a pit that I could not get out of on my own..

If you are feeling overwhelmed, run to the Rock Jesus and follow His instructions. I'm so glad that I did. I'm am still here to write about His grace because I did.

National Suicide Hotline (USA) 800-273-8255

or text “HOME” to 741741 to the Crisis Text Line

National Suicide Hotline (Canada) call or text 988

until next time

xylia

Fete Faith