When Stress Hits

In times of stress, each of us responds in our own unique ways. The past weeks have made this even more apparent as so many of us have different ways of reacting, processing and coping with what’s been going on with this pandemic.

Some block it out. Some panic. Some prepare. Some debate. Some escape. Some deny. Some embrace. We all have our responses when stress hits.

For me? When the stress revolves around health specifically, I struggle to remember what my reality is. I quietly battle with low-grade anxiety that festers under the surface with questions. Will we catch this? Will we be in the small percentage that needs hospitalization? Will there be enough beds at the hospital? Who would school my kids if I get sick and can’t be around them? And worse, would this lead to death for me or my loved ones?

My thoughts swirl around silently, almost undetected. Sometimes it takes me weeks to call out and identify what my brain has actually been thinking among all the noise of our days.

I’ve been spending some time reading about Jesus and this particular verse cut straight through my anxiety and sobered me, reminding me of what is TRUE of my circumstances.

When his time was drawing near to his death, he prayed to God and said,

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”

And this right here brought my eyes back into focus.

There is no disease, no famine, no natural disaster, no world pandemic that can shift or change the days God has planned for us on this earth. We will be here until the work he has created for us is accomplished. Each and every day is numbered and purposed and there will be nothing that will shake or alter that.

When my head spins and my what ifs lead me down paths of fear and death, I am comforted to remember that my time here on earth is determined by God himself. He has a plan for us – and nothing can, or will, take us from his holy loving grip.