Be Still on the Swing

I guess I’ve always been like this.
Whenever something doesn’t go the way I expect, I don’t tiptoe into worry. I dive headfirst into the worst-case scenario. I don’t ease into it with logic or pause to ask questions. I just spiral.

Recently, something happened at work.
I had to communicate with a former client, and as many of us know, email isn’t always the best way to express intent. The client misunderstood what I wrote. When I saw their response, I immediately felt like I had failed. That moment became a doorway to doubt. I went straight to thinking everything was falling apart, that I had messed up beyond repair. My mind swung hard into the negative.

What’s wild is that just a few weeks ago, God reminded me again to be still. But I guess I hadn’t learned that lesson all the way yet. Because this week, I kept swinging back and forth between stillness and spiraling. Calm and chaos. Trust and fear.

And eventually, He stilled me.
The momentum of the swing slowed. I stopped flailing emotionally. I remembered His words.

That next day, I chose to face the situation directly. I didn’t hide. I adjusted. I pivoted. I did my part. The day after that, I took time away from the office just to breathe and recenter. I needed it.

Then today, I came back, and what I discovered brought me to tears.
There were people who stood up for me. Who defended my name and my character without me asking. People who spoke on my behalf when I wasn’t even in the room. And it reminded me again that God is always working, even when I’m swinging wildly between anxiety and silence.

He doesn’t need me to fight every battle. He just needs me to be still.

It’s funny. That swing set image keeps coming to mind.
I used to jump off the swing when life got hard. I’d leap into the next thing, the next plan, the next distraction. But now, I see the swing differently. It may carry me forward with fear or backward with regret, but the seat is still connected. And with God, that connection always pulls me back to center.

To stillness.
To trust.
To Him.

So if you’re swinging too—if your emotions have taken over and you feel out of balance—don’t jump. Just wait. Just breathe.
God is pulling you back.
He’s still in control.
Just be still.