I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress lately. I mean I usually live a full life and I’m not someone who steps down from a challenge or is afraid to put up their hand if something needs to be done. I like a work life balance which means work hard and play hard. Problem being, there isn’t a lot of rest hard in that equation. Oops.
Stress is an awful thing. I can see it turning me into a monster and yet I feel like I have no control over it. Instead of going to sleep and waking up excited for a new day, I wake up with a bad mood. The voice in my head says, “so much to get done today Fran. Think you are going to make it? Think those people at work appreciate all your hard work? They’ll probably just give you more responsibility today. Watch and wait.”
I get home at the end of the day and instead of hanging out with my housemates and being pleasant, I’m tired. I’m stressed. I don’t want to talk to them, let alone anyone. All I want is 3 full days of sleep.
Stress sits on you and makes everything worse. It makes you see everything through a lens of immediate pain instead of long-term perspective. Instead of giving my friend the benefit of the doubt when I don’t hear from her, instead I become angry and entitled. “She never responds” I think and jump to conclusions.
In all the stress and chaos of the world and our very busy lives, we forget to become quiet. We don’t have time, we say. We don’t take a moment to zoom out and let smaller things get out of the way and made room for bigger things to occupy your thoughts.
If you zoom out far enough, you always get to God.
The thing about zooming out is that we gain perspective. It won’t last forever. The other thing about zooming out is that when we stop looking at all our small problems we suddenly have space for something bigger. We have a God space and nothing is bigger than Him.
Step back and see your situation through the eyes of someone infinitely bigger
What if someone big and infinitely caring really does have your life under control? Isn’t that a calming thought? Wouldn’t that motivate you to let go of some of the things that are holding you back?
When you think about God do you think small thoughts?
What does your picture of God look like? Do you think He is great? Do you think He is caring? Or are we confining Him with our narrow lens? Is He truly transcendent or is He simply another addition to our lives?
God puts everything together and turns it into something beautiful
God takes all the things which are you – the brown hair, the love for fashion, the crazy career path and puts it all together. He looks after you and somehow makes everything work out. You just can’t see it unless you take a moment to zoom out.
We are a stressed out people. We tend to only see ourselves. We see everything through our own lens and our own agenda. We let stress (me especially) steal our joy and vigor for life. We don’t take enough time to stop and zoom out. We don’t take enough time to look at the ocean or watch the water fall in a crescent into a forest pool. We don’t take enough time to smile at the old lady crossing the street or hear the sound of a child’s singing voice as they walk to school in the morning. Zoom out. Zoom out and let God who has it all sorted help figure out your plans and problems. Zoom out, and find perspective. Zoom out and you’ll see it’s going to be ok, even though it doesn’t feel like it right now.