stress less

people are always telling me i stress too much. my dad, my mom, my grandmother, my boyfriend and everyone in between. when this happens i desperately try to rearrange my mental focus on the things that make me feel more calm and align my mind with what is important. usually for me, the things i stress about are also the things that aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. (perspective is a powerful thing)

for me, the things that cause me to literally freak (seriously, ask the boyfriend if you don't believe me) out are related to things that i either can't control in the immediate future or are things that i feel aren't working out the way that they should. (or the way i need or want them too)

on the flip side, i like to think that i handle life's big stresses with grace.... you know, the things that really test a person's character . i am confident i handle these things with superior ease (don't worry, i use the term lightly). but the little stuff... no freaking way. count me out. and of course with being down and out comes, well... more stress.

i'm creepily self aware of my issue with stress. i think that is part of the problem. i know i shouldn't be panicking. i realize i sound like a maniac when i call my home screen favorites and can't breathe.  and honestly between you and i, there is nothing that i hate more than being told by the other end of the phone to breathe. I KNOW I NEED TO BREATHE! however for this girl....it's not always easy. hence, stressed out maniac.

i'm not a quitter but God help me for thinking about it every now and then. in an attempt to "realign" my mind i pulled out my old Teen Bible. this thing looks like it has been through war. i mean notes, pages ripped, post its and place holders....  and honestly, it's comforting actually. to know that at one time in my life it did provide some sort of solace for an eager mind and uneasy spirit. it also reminds me that there has not been one moment in my life that i can remember not being stressed or overwhelmed with life's daily curve balls.

as a matter of fact in the days of the 96' Blue Dodge Neon (I think I named her Balooga? or something like that...sorry, disregard) i remember taping a verse on my dash. seriously, i taped a verse on my dash to remind me every day to stress less. it went like this;

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we do not give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up and keep going. Through suffering these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." - 2 Corinthians 4, 8-10

heaven knows that we are all pressed on every side. and sure, not everyone handles anxiety with ease (cough cough, me, cough cough) however, if anything is true it is that there are things in this life that are constant like love and support.  i am thankful that i have both and every now and then (more often than not) those home screen favorites remind me of the reasons to stress less, and well, they will always remind me to breathe.