The past couple of days there is a topic I have been thinking about. Stress.
Stress-free is the theme of so many individuals’ dreams. Living a life that is simple and stress-free is almost non-existent. Attaining such a life is impossible, yet through the strength and grace of the Lord, we can overcome the pain. Learning to appreciate the things that you go through is another step in the journey of life.
I have always been a firm believer in starting in your own life the things you wish to see in others. So, with that said, I am going to share a few things that I have learned to do when life around me becomes overwhelming.
- Seek Him…
No matter how hard things seem, God is with you. If you are His child and have confessed your sins to Him than He will comfort, strengthen, and give you grace. Seeking Him may seem like a way to ignore the real problem, but in reality, the real problem may just be that you are not seeking Him as He has said to do. God is merciful and full of compassion, yet He is a just God—sin must be punished. Even then He still loves and comforts us.
Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Matthew 11:28 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
In these two passages, He clearly says to go to Him for help. Call to Him! Come to Him! You will never regret it.
- Breathe…
Yes, breathe. Take a deep breath, fill your lungs, and exhale slowly. Don’t you feel better, now? When I practice this little exercise, I find it really helps to get a different perspective on the situation.
- Pull Weeds…
Get near nature. Get near God’s creation. Pull away the things that are harming growth. In life, things seem to get so in the way of what is really important. These things are like weeds growing around the things that are important to us. I was feeling extremely stressed about something and decided to go and pull away the weeds that had begun to form around our blueberry bushes. I could see that the weeds had started to hinder the continued growth of the blueberries. As I am ripping out of the ground unwanted obstructions, I began to realize that the thing that was getting at me was really my own fault. It took some time and pulling weeds to think about things in a different light.
- Run away from social media…
The biggest hindrance of our peace is social media, in my opinion. Toss the phone in a drawer and go spend time away from it. I like to have some “no media” days where I stay off my computer and off my phone. It is during those times I like to write and get out of my brain as much as I can. Creativity is not being stimulated when a computer or phone or tablet is in front of us. I like to sit on a porch and write about what I hear around me.
- Sing a song…
Sing a song that makes you happy or takes you back to a place that has special memories! This is something that you can do anywhere. I love to grab my guitar and just strum – sometimes to a song, and others just strumming through different chords.
- Smile 🙂
Smiling is the best thing for your health. Keep a sticky note where you will see it often as a reminder to smile.
Have a blessed day!
“It’s not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
–Charles Spurgeon
