Stress

When the thought of stress stresses you out, there is an issue.

I’ve been unbelievably overwhelmed with stress in the past few weeks. Minor things, seemingly major things, actually major things…it’s all been piling on like a cowboy packs his mule for a long trip.

If you lazily make a stack of 100 books, it will be extremely precarious and most likely fall. But, if someone sees the uneven stack of books and straightens it before they all fall to the floor, then the problem is solved and life can resume. So, in real life, I’m the lazy books stacker and God is the straightener.

I was throwing books (my “things to do”) left and right, stacking up that pile as fast as I could. And it was getting me absolutely nowhere.

In the past few days, several wise women have advised me to only do one thing at a time…because we physically can only do one thing at a time. Do the thing on the list that needs to be done today. Don’t focus on the other 25 items that need to be done tomorrow or by the end of the month or whenever. Do one thing at a time, because you can only do one thing at a time.

Elisabeth Elliot said, “One reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.”

When you become so stressed that the idea of stress stresses you out, you get into a grid-lock. Brain stops functioning properly. Life freezes. (And then you get really stressed, because you are not getting anything done.)

So, today, I probably made one of the best decisions I’ve made in weeks. I decided to take my dog to the beach. I got off of work at 2pm…that’s all afternoon and evening that I had to work on my “to do list”…instead, I took the afternoon off. And now, I’m typing up a blog post, something I’ve been too busy to do. I decided to do two things today that were not on my list, and it’s entirely okay. My list is still there. There are things that need to be done…always, but I have time tomorrow afternoon and the day after that and the day after that. I’m “submitting the list to Him…”

He is working things out for me. I’m getting things checked off my list. I’m feeling like the mule after the trip is over and the cowboy is removing items one at a time.

Something that God keeps reminding me of is how everything here on this earth is temporary. God did not create stress. There will not be stress in heaven. (The list of things that do not exist in heaven goes on for a while, but I’m focusing on the stress part for now.) And I find comfort in that thought.

We throw around the phrase, “God is in control” so blatantly. But, when you actually know the meaning of God being in control and you believe it, you will find such a wonderful assurance and be able to rest in a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that can only come from God.

What is the opposite of stress?

Peace.