The Planet’s Best Coping Mechanism

Life can be hard even when it’s good. Amen?

People adopt various and sundry ways of dealing with daily stress. Some coping mechanisms are healthy, others not so much. Who among us doesn’t know someone who is ruining his or her life by trying to calm their souls with drugs and alcohol?

Other coping mechanisms are just downright strange.  I fell down an Internet hole earlier by typing “how people deal with stress” in a search engine. Trust me on this one. You don’t even want to know some of the things I discovered. In one of the milder examples, a man said that when he feels stressed he starts spelling out what the people around him are saying. That’s w-i-e-r-d. I mean, w-e-i-r-d. Thanks, spell check.

My southern mama insists that cleaning house relieves her stress. I kid you not. As of this writing, that trait has not been passed down to her girls.

My grandchildren have their own little ways of handling stress. Their parents have taught them that they can calm themselves down by taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. This isn’t my shameless way of mentioning my grandkids again, although that’s always fun. Sure, my grands are adorable taking those deep breaths with tear-streaked faces, but I only mention them because it leads me so seamlessly into my recommendation for coping. I’ve found God’s word to be the sweetest and most effective stress reliever on the planet.

The Bible isn’t composed of everyday words made from average Joe letters lined up on a page. Oh, no, friend. These words are the breath of God. And this is where I find my balance.

My life is as busy as yours, but I’ve learned the hard way not to let anything steal my time in the Word. It is literally how I breathe. If you have yet to discover the sweet rest of God, allow me to encourage you today to do yourself a huge favor. Take a deep breath of God’s word, and let it out slowly!

Hugs, Shellie