Be Your Best!
Stress has been defined as:
A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances: constraining force or influence: such as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.
I became very concerned when I saw that my lilacs were blooming now. This is not the right time of year, so I turned to the Internet to find out the reason why. It informed me that this will happen when the plant suffers a disease or a time of stress. The blossoms that appear now were set by the plant to open in the spring and because of this stress they bloomed prematurely. As a result, there will be fewer blossoms in the spring as some have opened now. I was relieved to learn that this will not hurt the plant.
I’m sure many of us can agree that stress enters everyone’s life at different times and with different intensities. It can be work related, financial, family related, or a disease or illness that has disrupted our normal routine. How you handle the stress is entirely up to you. The world would have you believe that you must take medication to even out your mood. Or perhaps you would be convinced that having a drink or two of alcohol will mellow you out and relieve you of all your stress. Others may seek a vacation or a weekend away and leave their troubles behind them. The main problem with all these remedies is that the conditions of the stress is still there, leaving you with the need for more Self Medication.
I have watched other people deal with stress at different levels. I am impressed and admire how some people can handle stress with such aplomb and others contemplate extreme measures, even some become suicidal.
What makes these people so different on how they handle the problems they face? I believe it is because some people think they can handle the difficulties and stress in their lives all by themselves, while others turned to the Lord for help.
You know me, and any time I can interject a song to expound on the point I’m trying to make I will do so. Here is one of my favorites.
“LEAVE YOUR HEAVY BURDEN AT THE CROSS” by J.W.P.
Do you bear a weight of sin
And you have no peace within,
And it seems like your life is but a loss?
You can find a sweet relief,
And a joy for every grief,
If you leave your heavy burden at the cross.
CHORUS
Leave your heavy burden at the cross,
And go free, O sinner go free;
Leave your heavy burden at the cross,
At the cross of Calvary.
Jesus is waiting now to welcome you there;
He wants to save you and to take all your care;
Leave your heavy burden at the cross,
And go free, O sinner go free.
Why then longer walk along,
Burdened down with sin and wrong,
When at Calvary you can be fully free.
There is still an open door,
Do not linger any more;
You can know a life of joy and victory.
CHORUS
You may think the solution in this song too good to be true. Try to take them to the Lord in prayer. There are many Scriptures in the Bible that tell us that he will help us carry our burdens and make them lighter and our world brighter. The worst thing you can do when you’re handling stress is become self-absorbed and take on a poor little me syndrome. All this tends to do is magnify the problems and not diminish them in any way. Another song that comes to mind is count your blessings, when we think nothing is going right in our life or in our world we should stop and take account of all the wonderful things we have had and have at the present time in our lives.
As parents our children watch how we behave when we are faced with adversity in our lives. Do we cry and rant and scream, saying how unfair the world is? Or will we take our heavy burdens to the cross at the feet of Jesus and let him help us. Sone of the best stress relievers are walking, singing, praying, and serving others. Let us teach our children to turn to the Scriptures. Like the Bible says: “in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.” Proverbs 3:6
We as authors find the best way to make a book thrilling and spellbinding is by placing adversities in our character’s path. The worse or thrilling the problem is, the reader will be anticipating how the problem will be resolved. How refreshing it would be to have our hero turn to Jesus Christ for help, and understand his love and care for us in all situations.
My advice if I could give any to those who suffer from stress, strife, or disease is to use this time in your life to bloom like my lilacs, even though it seems like the most unusual unpredictable time to do so. Make your focus to be a blessing to others as those blossoms are a pleasure to the eye and sweet fragrance.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:25 -27
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalms 34:4
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Mark 4:19
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. I Corinthians 10:13
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. II Corinthians 12:9-10