Stress!

There are many facets of good health beyond diet and nutrition, one of which is avoiding as much stress as possible.  It's proven that excessive stress has adverse effects on physical health, and I have been taking that to heart.  Obviously, it is impossible to avoid all stress--and all stress isn't necessarily "bad."  Good things like getting married or having a baby or getting a new job all involve some amount of stress even though they are positive life changes.  One of the keys is recognizing which situations I have control over and which I don't.  What I can't control, I try to leave in God's hands.  What I can control, I try to deal with wisely.  And I try to avoid worrying about any of it--whether I can control it or not.  Worry is a sinful lack of trust in God.

Having said that, lately it seems that the harder I try not to be stressed, the more stress I have in my life--stress at church, stress at work, financial stress.  This is frustrating for me.  But frustration causes more stress, so I can't allow myself to be frustrated!  HA! 

The finances are a BIG issue.  My husband and I like to avoid unnecessary debt, and we do pretty well at not carrying credit card balances or other debt besides our home mortgage.  We also maintain a savings account with designated funds and some emergency money.  But 2013 was not a good year.  It started off with some large dental bills, even after what insurance covered.  A few months later our refrigerator died and had to be replaced.  We didn't buy a fancy stainless steel model or anything--just plain white with no add-ons like ice makers or water-in-the-door--but it was still $1500.  Okay.  We thought, "This isn't horrible; it's manageable.  We'll be able to take care of it with some time."  A couple months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Two weeks after my diagnosis, my husband broke both bones in his ankle.  He ended up having surgery before I did.  Insurance ended up covering most of it, but we had to meet our high deductible first, which was several thousand dollars.  Plus my husband was off work for two months; he received some disability pay, but it's not enough to pay the bills.  I didn't miss much work, but it ended up being at least one day per pay period for a couple months.  God sustained us through the pay we did receive and through generous gifts from a lot of people who blessed us.  The final straw was having to replace our furnace during the very cold winter--a few thousand more dollars that we don't have.  A list of unforeseen events that have left us roughly $10,000 in debt.  Sigh.  We aren't freaking out or worrying, but we do have to deal with it.  So we tighten our belts in every area and come up with a plan to chip away at it.  We aren't destitute by any means--still wealthy, in fact, compared to the majority of the world's population--so we keep things in perspective, count our blessings, and realize things could always be a lot worse than they are!

God is still in control--and He never promised life would be without difficulty.  We do our best to make wise decisions, be good stewards of what He has given us, and trust Him to work all things out for His glory!