Stress Transferred

This can easily be a stressful time of year. Some, of course, stress more than others. Yesterday was our department Christmas party, which always seems to be a spell for disaster. My supervisor, who had been tasked to plan the party, took entirely too much ownership, causing stress to pool out of her. Waiting to do things until the last minute and then letting the fact that there was no time left get to her. The problem comes into play here: when she stresses, it gets pushed onto everyone else as well. Then I got to thinking, "Does everyone wear stress this way? Or only certain people?"

I told her not to stress. I explained that she should just not let things like this get to her. It's not worth it. It ruins everything perfectly good. And worse yet, it affects the rest of us greatly. Besides, God had not designed us this way. She told me I was right but kept on anyways, claiming she had no other choice. But there is a choice. The choice is always ours!!! She went on to explain that it was caused because nothing was happening exactly as planned and all the timing was off. The real question is who's timing was it? Hers? Or in that case... what about your time table? Face it, your time table means nothing whatsoever. I'd like to see any of us turn to God and say that we HAVE to stress because things HAVE to go as we plan them, when we plan them, or else! Some of this is in our nature because of the sin that is in us. And I do believe God understands, because He sees the whole picture and He loves us uncontrollably. But still, we are not meant to live this way. When things start happening different from God's plan and time table... now THAT would be cause for some real concern. And I seriously doubt life will ever TRULY come to that point.

Anyways, back to our original topic: how do you wear your stress? Do you bottle it up for no one to see until you explode and nobody sees the torrent coming until it's too late? Do you wear it peacefully, not letting it affect you much at all? Do you wear it on the cuff of your sleeve taking everyone else down with you, leaving a path of destruction? Whatever the case may be, it is largely not worth it. Sure, some "stress" is good so far as motivation and focus goes. But VERY little. God made us to be like Him, creatures of peace and understanding. We do not live up to this, naturally. We probably never will, not until we see Him face to face that is.

So why do we let things get to us anyways? What's the point, really? What good does it do any of us? This is something God has been teaching me lately, mostly through Hal's influence in my life (he's such a great guy ! :). Something I have to admit I will never fully learn and I will probably struggle with all my life; all of us do. But seriously: Why? Why not just let things go with the flow and move on from there? I firmly believe we can live our lives and put our all into the things we do without letting it "get" to us. So why don't we? What's preventing us? (No Sunday School answers, please!) Why not just live, to the best of our ability of God working and being in and through us, as God intended us to? My proposition is this: maybe it's really not that hard at all. Maybe we make it out to be more than it truly is. Maybe we do this with everything in life. I'm not sure, but I personally am going to do my best to live a simple, peaceful, flexible life and allow God to lead me and work through me. Maybe, just maybe, doing this will spill over into the lives of those around me. At least, I sure hope so...

"Let go and let God!"