IN THE END...IT KILLS US ALL

By -
The other day I was with my family and my youngest son just wasn't himself.  I asked if he was feeling bad.  He just said he was tired.  No reason to be, just tired.  He wasn't himself.  He was quiet, withdrawn, never smiling, little response to anything.  We thought he might be sick.  But, I kept probing. (it's what I do)  Are you sick?  Are you worried about something?  Are you stressed?  He didn't think so, but then again he didn't know what stress felt like.

I remember those days.  I used to think stress was something other people had.  Mainly, I just didn't know what stress felt like.  That, and I didn't know that the source of stress wasn't from just negative stimuli.  We accumulate a certain amount of stress points for the death of a loved one or the birth of a child.  Stress can just as easily come from losing a job or from getting a new one.

Let's see:  He's about to start a new job, sign his first mortgage and buy a replacement for the car he has.  Stress, stress and stress.

No matter what the coroner says about us, we all die from stress.  Whatever gets us was stress-induced. Think of yourself as an egg and the world around you like two big hands, holding you.  Every time a major change comes in our life, those hands put a little more force into holding us a little tighter.  New job....squeeze.  Moving to a new city...squeeze.  Divorce...SQUEEZE.  Promotion...SQUEEZE!  Unexpected Root Canal...SQUEEZE!  Enough squeezing and your shell is gonna crack.  And, trust me, that's a mess.  BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.  GOT THE T-SHIRT AND THE SCARS.

So...what's the answer?  Here's God's prescription: "Don't worry about anything.  Just pray about everything.  Tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers".  Yes, I'm aware it's easier said than done.  But, if God asks us to do it...then it's doable.

1.  Recognize that every change brings stress...victories as well as defeats
2.  Acknowledge them
3.  Rather than internalizing them, pray about them
4.  Prayer is the spiritual exercise for your soul and mind.  Physical exercise is for the body.  Get
     moving.
5.  Understand this is waging war on your mind and body.  Take it seriously.  But don't worry about
     worrying.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SHOULD JOHN KELLY APOLOGIZE?

By -
In case you are unaware, Dr. John Kelly is the Superintendent of Schools for Pearland ISD.  Recently, he, and other Houston suburban superintendents were asked about the mandate sent down from President Obama requiring all school districts in America to allow any transgender student to be allowed to use the restroom or locker room, not of their biological sex, but of whatever sex they "identified with".  Here were his comments. " When the Supreme Court re-defined marriage and invented new constitutional rights, the door was opened for re-defining all social norms, now including Executive Branch dictates about bathroom and locker room rules in local schools," he said. "A hostile vocal minority now rules in America aided by an apathetic, unengaged   majority. What's next? Legalizing pedophilia and polygamy? Unless we return to the Biblical basis on which our nation's laws were established, we are in serious trouble — and cannot expect God's con...
Read more

Who's Your Coach?

By -
Ever play on a team without a coach? I have. You know, a church-league basketball team. Softball league. Flag football. It's not exactly the same as the sports experiences you remember from your earlier years. Back in High School, everyone knew exactly who was in charge. Everyone knew who was calling the shots, determining the strategy and calling the plays on gameday. But, even before that, every day you knew who was in charge of practice. And you knew what his purpose was. Sure, to win games, but also, to make you the best player you could be. After all, that's what makes it possible for him to win games. My playing days are over, but recently I got myself a coach anyway. Not to help me with my jumpshot or put a few more MPHs on my fastball, but to help me be a better pastor. For the past six months, I've been part of a coaching network, along with some other pastors from accross the U.S. and a few other countries. We have a coach whose sole purpose is ...
Read more

BUNNIES, BOUNCING & BAIT

By -
Yesterday was the day before Easter. A few months ago, in a moment of insanity or inspiration, I'm still not sure which, I mentioned in a staff meeting that we should rent the local football stadium, hire a helicopter and drop a few thousand Easter eggs out of it. Yesterday we did it...with a few exceptions. We dropped 30,000 eggs. We had 15 inflatables. We had games, face-painting, popcorn & cotton candy. We gave away thousands of dollars of prizes. And it was all free. We really didn't have any idea what to expect. I mean, we'd never done this before. Initially, we thought if 1,000 people showed up it would be a success. Then we reassessed and revised our expectations. We hoped for 1500. I don't know how many people showed up yesterday. I know that after the parking team had parked 5000 cars they quit counting. I know that we caused such a traffic jam in Pearland that the Pearland PD had to dispatch 5 units to handle the traffic backups we c...
Read more