How are you feeling today? 
Well, just in case you’re feeling a little anxious, this Thursday Thought is for you.

The truth is that anxiety seems to be swirling all around us.  Americans are (understandably) anxious about the election.  There was an excellent article in The Atlantic about election anxiety—”Election Anxiety Is Telling You Something.”*  In that article, author Shayla Love shares the results of The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America annual survey which found that 7 out of 10 Americans cited politics as a leading cause of stress (across party lines).  That survey came out in August, and I would bet that it’s even worse now! 

Well-meaning people give advice about how to calm down, ranging from meditation to limiting news consumption to spending intentional time with loved ones.  Worshiping with your church family can help with anxiety too, come to that!  Though I appreciated the approach from Shayla Love when she wrote, “But there’s another way to think about election stress: A big event should prompt big feelings.”  In other words, why wouldn’t we feel anxious right now? 

I know that doesn’t fix the feelings or solve the problem.
But maybe it helps to normalize those feelings of election anxiety. 
Perhaps it’s helpful to consider that anxiety is even an appropriate response. 
Why? 
Because ultimately it shows that we care. 
And as an old UCC motto goes, “To believe is to care; to care is to do.” 

Love,
Pastor Lauren

*Shayla Love, “Election Anxiety Is Telling You Something,” The Atlantic, October 25, 2024,
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/10/election-anxiety-moral-rational/680402/

Photo by Corey Agopian on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 10/31/24