Beating Anxiety

No matter what I am doing, or where I am at, there is always something that I can think about in my life that can cause anxiety. Whether it's finances, health, a task list to get through, etc... There is always something that I can allow myself to dwell on that cause a shift in my mood, or bring stress into my thoughts. My dad has always said, "if you are alive and breathing, you are entering into, in, or coming out of a crisis." The older I get, the more that rings true. I've found that unless I continue to fight my thoughts, everyday, life can be anxious.

I know the Bible wants us "to take our thoughts captive," but easier said than done. Being a deep thinker, I can tell you that it's very hard for me, personally, to stop things from festering in my mind. Often times, I find myself even on a run, thinking about all that I have to do before a given deadline. I have found that as an adult, it has been SO helpful for me to just get to the point where I can accept that there will never be a time when I have everything I have to do completed, or figured out. There will never be a time where every troublesome thing in my life will be fixed or gone. It just won't be. Some things will stay will you for your entire life (maybe it's a health issue), and others will be solved (possibly a family dynamic), only with another mini crisis waiting for you around the corner. For me, it's not about getting through my task list, or getting to a point where I don't have to stress about work and earning more business, or whatever it may be, but it is getting to a point where I accept that life will never organized on a shelf, if you will. Life is much too fast to manage. Rather, the only peace that we will ever have is that we can accept life as it is, knowing that God is the fountain of peace. We can never have peace without Him, no matter what we do.

I remember my brother and I used to play this game we dubbed as "can't touch the carpet." My brother, Jacob, and I would use leftover balloons from a party or an event at our house that had just enough helium in them to float to the ground rather quickly, but giving us enough time to keep three or so of them from touching the ground in our playroom. The objective was to keep the balloons from "touching the carpet" by consistently tapping them into the air while staying on our knees. In essence, it was juggling, in slow motion. We could always keep two and three balloons in the air, and four seemed to be no problem. However, when we added that fifth balloon into the mix, it got a bit difficult. The more balloons we added, we would find ourselves having balloons fall on the ground when we would go for the same balloon while the others were falling. You see, it's the same way in life. We we are young, we can typically juggle a less complicated life. But, when you gain more and more responsibility, it's simply impossible.

This week, let's try to accept life's troubling circumstances, knowing that God will never give us anything we can't keep from "hitting the carpet."