Lessons from a Hurricane (7)
Tossed and Trapped: The Zombie Virus
Zombies…. I don’t know much about them but…. have you ever seen a computer with The Zombie Virus? It freezes – totally and completely freezes. 
One day at work my computer had a white screen that wouldn’t budge. I was given a new computer last month and experienced many difficulties with getting it up and running. Finally The Zombie took over my machine! It just stared at me.
When I was in the midst of The Hurricane last fall I often felt like my computer looked when the virus hit. I felt frozen and trapped. I could barely think. I could only focus on a small area of my life. To think about personal relationships, dreams and practicalities of the breadth of my ministry life were often challenging and sometimes elusive to me. I felt constrained, trapped, like there was a rope tying my legs and my hands. Sometimes hours would go by and I was fixated on thinking, or rather feeling, The Hurricane. I couldn’t change the storm, but I was stuck in it, being tossed around like a cow in a tornado, and frozen with a Zombie virus. Tossed and Trapped.
My computer is now fixed. I’m typing happily on it. I’m now free too! I realized I couldn’t tame the chaos. Even with my strong ordering ability I couldn’t alter the changes that were coming into my world. Even with my normal responsiveness to change, I was like everyone else, at times resistant to change.
Tossed and Trapped
Have you had times of feeling tossed and trapped? Times when you were frozen, your productivity was small, and your world shrank? What helped you? Next week more of my of anchors in the storm, but certainly a first step is simply to acknowledge – I’m in trouble! I need some help! Call the God Squad
However your world is today – may you know you are not alone.
Anne
Community Leader (Canada) Contemplative Fire
Mystic in Motion 
I very much relate to your hurricane and zombie virus, as I have been dealing with many family issues and emergencies and a death over the last couple of years. I have learned so much! In crisis and challenging times, I have learned to trust in God and keep stepping out in faith. God does indeed provide, in wonderful ways. I am not as good in the quiet recovery times. The zombie virus hits and I grind to an indecisive halt. I am learning to rest in the Lord and listen for guidance in these times too. Learning to forgive myself for not accomplishing a million things every day. Looking for and establishing a new normal, with God’s guidance.
Anne L.
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Anne: The last couple of months, I have been waiting to see a specialist to find out if a medical situation I have is a challenge or just a glitch. I have felt the narrowing of focus and the inability to make plans until I know the outcome of my appointment. At the same time, there is the paradox that I am learning to live in the moment. I can’t do anything about the waiting. There are also flickers of impatience. I am ready for the waiting to be over. Those flickers could be signs of life waiting to be lived.
Helen
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