Highways in the Heart

I’ve been continuing the pursuit of my word of the year SISU (A Finnish term encompassing the burst of strength to overcome an obstacle and the enduring strength to persevere through a long slog.)

Another birthday this week, my son Nicholas’, has me thinking about practicing SISU through the hardest times by relying on practices developed in calmer seasons.    

Those of you who have been my newsletter friends for a while or who have read my first book (Among Lions: Fighting for Faith and Finding your Rest while Parenting a Child with Mental Illness) have met Nicholas. I had the privilege and heartbreak of walking alongside him through long years of mental health crises when he first faced bipolar disorder as a teen. (He’s doing great right now.)

One of the greatest lessons I learned during that time was this:

God’s presence is the place of strength and blessing.

But how do we get there? We need strength to live well through challenges. We long for grace and peace when chaos hits.

The psalmist gives us something to ponder:

Highways to Zion.

These are the roads to God’s presence that we construct over time. We find the best routes for our own personalities. We level and smooth the way through repetition and practice. We get to know them automatically, like a well-traveled commute.

For me, those highways include music, walking in beautiful natural places, and regular time every morning in prayer and Bible reading. I’ve learned that if I cultivate these practices to usher me into God’s presence when there is no crisis, then they act as highways for me when I need them most.

We can access God’s presence always if the highways to Zion are within.

What about you? What practices are you cultivating so they can be highways for you into God’s presence–the place of SISU?