What Can We Do About Stress?

"Always the wish that you may find patience enough in yourself to endure, and simplicity enough to believe; that you may acquire more and more confidence in that which is difficult. . ." (Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemian-Austrian Poet, 1875-1926).

This quote might have just been the perfect encouragement written on a greeting card and then given to the 515 participants of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. Surely it took lots of patience to get through the eight rounds of the competition. Finally, a fourteen-year-old boy from McKinney, Texas, Karthik Nemmani was declared the winner. With apparent courage, but maybe not as much confidence as we would think, he correctly spelled the word "koinonia." Some of us may have stumbled over our tongue trying to say, spell, or define that word which means "Christian fellowship or communion with God, or more commonly with fellow Christians." 

Patience Perfected
In our single-again lives, seems like we should each adopt the Rilke quote above as our own encouragement and read it daily. We absolutely need all the patience we can get because life has a nagging way of creating stress everywhere we turn. The woman in the elevator seems completely put together. Our neighbor is the best mom on the block. Our friend has boundless energy that we crave. We get passed over at work for a promotion because we lack certain credentials. 

The list is endless and more items are attached each day. Finances, coworkers, hunger or dehydration, needing a break, solving a personal problem, and on and on. What can we do about it? The next time you feel hands clenching, irritability, or a muscle kink in your neck, stop and try these: 

Breathe in deep and slow, then out even slower. 
Recline into a comfortable position and practice releasing tension head to toe. 
Turn on quiet, instrumental music and really listen to it. 
Be open to finding causes for the impatience.
Join a support team and call someone instead of drowning in anger.

Be a Believer
Of course, none of us will ever be perfect. We will have ups and downs, sometimes on a daily basis. Impatience and even anger are normal human traits but we don't need to let them change our core personality. The key is deciding what to do with these emotions when they invade our lives. Start with believing in yourself as a strong woman. You can do this! With that belief in place, we can decide to "boil over" with destructive emotions or get serious about managing our lives in a positive way. It's up to us. There is much you can do immediately, so click on this resource to get started: 

Mind Tools to Handle Stress

Best Seller
Did you know the very best instruction book to handle our stress, impatience, anger, difficulties, and endurance is a best seller and has never been out of print? True. Besides chapters and verses, it contains a "Help" menu in the back section. Just look up any of the above emotions and it will give you the answer to solve the problem. Amazing! It's called the Bible and is our best reference book by far!     

"May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus" (Romans 15:5 NLT).