Too blessed to be stressed!

This is one of the most popular religious catch phrases.  I overheard someone comment about it a while back.  It was a shame that she followed it with “I wish that were true.” 

There are so many ways to reduce stress.  There are breathing exercises, yoga, going for a walk and just relaxing and listening to music to name a few.  I believe in just not letting the stress grow in the first place.  This makes it easier to keep it under control.  I do not let a lot of things bother me.  I have been accused of being too laid back.  I just do not think that it helps the situation by stressing over things that are not in your control.  I have faith in God that He will take care of my needs.  It is said best in Matthew 11:28.

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

God has always taken care of my needs.  He may not always take care of my wants, but I know that my needs are covered.  About ten years ago, I had a dinner party scheduled at my house.  It went off without a hitch and was a great night of fellowship.  Back track a few weeks before that and I had a recipe for stress.  The air conditioner went out at my house.  Of course, this happens during a record heat wave in Nashville.  Money has been extremely tight, so I did not have an immediate solution.  I could not afford a new compressor to repair the unit and replacing the whole thing was just about impossible.  I immediately lifted my concerns up to God in prayer.

I asked Him to make the decision on what to do next.  I prayed that if He wanted me to have a new air conditioner, He would need to help me get it financed.  After being denied credit a couple of times, I realized that a new air conditioner was a “want”, not a “need”.  A dear friend loaned me some window air conditioners to use until I got it fixed.  I have friends that are truly blessings in my life.  I know that there are people that are doing without air conditioning all of the time.  I was blessed to own my own home, even though it was hot at the time.  We tend to focus on what we do not have instead of what we do have.

After three weeks and only a couple of days before the dinner party, I had the condenser replaced on the unit and paid cash.  I had refinanced my house and could skip a payment.  This was a process that I had started a several months before now.  Once again, God has provided.  He had laid the groundwork for this need months before.

I am too blessed to be stressed!  Let your faith in God reduce your stress level.  If we would take the time to realize all of the things that are blessings in our lives, we would know that the current situation is not as bad as we make it out to be and will also pass.  What are the blessings in your life?