Ka Ipu o Lono shares weekly devotionals to provide spiritual enrichment to members of the Kamehameha Schools ‘ohana. For more inspiration, visit the KS “Our faith” website.
Heluhelu Baibala
6 No laila, e hoʻohaʻahaʻa ʻoukou iā
ʻoukou iho ma lalo iho o ka lima mana o
ke Akua, i hoʻokiʻekiʻe aʻe ʻo ia iā
ʻoukou i ka wā pono. 7 E waiho aku i ko
ʻoukou kaumaha a pau ma luna ona; no
ka mea, ke manaʻo nei ʻo ia iā ʻoukou.
- Petero I 5:6-7 | | 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you at the proper time, 7 casting all your
anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
- Peter 5:6-7 |
He manaʻo o ke kahu
We did something yesterday that we haven’t done in a LOOOOONNNGGG time- we went to Queen Kaʻahumanu Shopping Center. My wife wanted to look at a product she was thinking of getting and she could not quite get the feel of it from the online description.
So, off we went, prepared mentally for the task ahead. We’ve (or at least I) have been out to the market, Costco, Longs, and even OfficeMax; but never to the shopping center since the pandemic started. Little did we know how we would be impacted physically from this trek.
Although the mall was nowhere near the usual pre-COVID numbers, there was still a fair number of folks walking about. My way of dealing with them was to walk fast, get ahead of the pack and plow forward to our destination.
Unfortunately, my wife was the opposite – walk slow and let the pack get ahead. So, I would backtrack to walk alongside her, however, shoppers would be coming out of doorways without any thought of people walking along, cutting us off. We’d stop so they could get ahead and soon we’d come across another entrance and the scenario would repeat itself.
We both began to feel tense. After going to the three stores we had on our list, we were ready to head home. Unfortunately, we still had a couple more stops to make before we could hunker down in the shelter of our own place.
Anxiety is wearing on the mind AND the body. So often, the way to deal with it is to turn into a turtle and retreat into our shell. In our case, it was to hurry home, into conditions that we could control. Ke Akua is telling us to go to him under his mighty hand, to see him as our puʻuhonua, our place of refuge. As we cast our anxieties on him, his protective presence brings a calming of our spirits and a relaxing of our tense muscles.
As we head back out into the communities, let’s keep in mind that there are those who are anxious being out. Take time to look around and give everyone space. As you experience anxiety, either from the stresses of COVID-19, the season, or just life, cast your anxieties on ke Akua, see Him as our puʻuhonua (refuge), and rest easy in Him.
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