Too Stressed to be Blessed?

About Being Stressed

A former plain-speaking Texas friend used to say, drivers in Dallas traffic rob her invariably of her charm and composure. So, she pasted a sign on her steering wheel, “Too blessed to be stressed.” That simple phrase keeps her from unlady-like hand signals, expletives, or other manifestations of road-rage.

Unfortunately, I can get that little mantra backwards. I can be too stressed to be blessed, for all the pep talks, bible studies and sermons in which I soak myself.

Life is scary, hard and uncertain, especially when my age and stage rob me of stuff I had always just taken for granted! Life too often feels like maneuvering traffic lanes at rush-hour on Interstate 35 in Dallas! (Maryland readers, think about the traffic on 495 near the Mormon Temple to get the picture!)

Living Life in Surprising Lanes

In my autumn’s garden of life, I can feel like I am going too fast some days for safe passage. Or, life feels like it is moving too slow for sanity! Some days, people cut in, cut me off, or ram into me in ways I did not see coming, while I cause accidents by carelessness or self-absorption.

Of course, the news, remains an unfailing stress producer!

A second hurricane, off the charts in its power;
A caricature of dictator in NK, who is no joke;
A national debt topping 20 trillion dollars –

All this is on top of the terrors of last week. What could go wrong today, hmmm?

Stress is as much an indicator of life as my pulse is.

In the relative bubble, that I enjoy, it’s hard to believe how fast the supports upon which I depend can be washed away. That’s why pictures and news from Houston get to me – shaking my faulty memory banks wake.

Moreover, I am reading through Jeremiah, coupled with studying Hebrews, while moving through the book of Psalms, particularly Psalms 48-52. All around the message is:

Trouble, like you have never seen, is coming;
Turn to God now.
And adjust your attitude – from grousing to gratitude.

For all the verses that are in Scripture, and there are 31,000, writes Daily Walk Bible, a consistent, repetitive, convicting chorus reverberates:

Seek out and Hang On to Someone you can’t see, but whom you remember never dropped you. And be thankful! (Psalm 50:22-23)

But like the Lord’s compassions, which are new every morning, this message is always news to me. So, yes, I repeat myself yet again:

Remember blessings so that stress can’t get a foothold in my daily life!

Thankfulness, gratitude, and grace are like exercise, meds, and nourishment that keep my old heart and brain healthy! Unfortunately, like my vitamins, and daily routines, I can forget to take them. Harvey, Irma, and Kim Jong-un serve as today’s terrifying reminders!

PS: Dear readers – for our family and friends are in the path of Irma, some who are evacuating, others who cannot, I ask the Lord to please altar the storm’s power and path, and have mercy on those in its midst.