Who knows.
I read a not-really-interesting article this morning about moms, outside stressors (the economy, etc), and how the latter affects the former. Anyway, it really wasn't that important. But the article had this thought in it, "moms know themselves well. They don’t need a DNA test to know if they get stressed easily or tend to roll with things (even big things)." And I started thinking about those last three words, "even big things".
Does something being a "big thing" make it easier to stress over? Not for me. If I feel like something was never inside of my range of control to begin with I'm much *less* likely to stress over it. The economy? That was never placed in front of me with direct orders to fix it. Noel's surgery? I couldn't fix his legs, and they needed to be fixed!
But things that seem as though I ought to be in charge of them, those stress me out. Like the fact that at one and a half we're still trying to figure out how to get Addie to sleep well. Or that all of my children will probably fall into that camp of people who think the laundry belongs on the couch. Or the last couple of weeks where I was so spacey there was no meal plan. (I NEED A MEAL PLAN.)
All that to say, I think that the sentence in the original article doesn't quite capture the nuances of stress. However, God knows we tend to stress out over the little things. (Like food! How funny that he specifically mentions not to worry about what you will eat. And I know he was probably talking more to people who didn't have *enough* to eat, but the worry/stress aspect still applies.) And he has told us to cast all our cares upon him, and bring them to him in prayer.
Which reminds me of a really awesome thing I heard a pastor say recently, that prayers about our worries aren't *for* God; he already knows what we're worried about and why. They're for us; God knows that we like to talk about our problems and he's the one who reigns over them all. And he may not change our problems, but he will certainly change us. Shaping us into people who seek after him more and more, and who are learning to live in the peace of Christ.
I'll stop rambling now and go finish my coffee. Maybe make real breakfast so Addie can stop eating last night's popcorn. No stress though!
~Noble
And here's a cute kitty picture to help you relax.
