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When Stress Takes You to The Edge of Losing It

When Stress Takes You to The Edge of Losing It

Sometimes all of these things happen in 24 hours:

You wig out about money and then go into a deep depression because you think you can’t afford for you and your husband to take your son to college. You say you will stay home.

You completely despair and think all of life is nothing but pain and sorrow.

You don’t pick up the checkbook and the budget to crunch numbers, because there is no hope.

You make your husband NUTS. He suggests you forget the original plan of two expensive return plane tickets and make the round trip to Texas in the car. You think about six days of driving and have a small conniption, declaring there is no way on earth you could spend six days in the car. You will throw up if you have to spend six days in the car.

You cry for an unreasonably long time and then the next day wake up and cry over waffles and go back to bed, even though you slept really great. You cry some more over a cup of coffee.

You try to read your Bible but you wonder (not that you would say it out loud) what in the world God could possibly say to encourage you.

You check email, because that is less work than praying.

In your email is a blog post by one of your favorite bloggers, entitled “Why Family Road Trips Are Worth It,” and you feel all kinds of ashamed about the whole not-wanting-to-pray thing, because obviously God is determined to talk to you anyway, even if the communication has to come as a thump upside your thick skull.

So you take a walk and humbly entertain the thought of six days in the car, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe you wouldn’t die, and you know blood clots from sitting too long are preventable, if you can convince your husband to stop every two hours.

You know if you promise to quit crying, he might agree to stop the car every two hours.

After your walk you feel a glimmer –a small glimmer, but you have to admit it’s there at least– of hope. So you get out the checkbook and the budget, and you’re embarrassed to discover that this road trip is do-able, and maybe you should have crunched the numbers sooner.

When Stress Takes You to The Edge of Losing It

“Eat your crow while it’s still warm,” dad always said.

Okay, okay. So I’m going to admit it.

My husband was right.

A little louder, he says?

MY HUSBAND WAS RIGHT. A ROAD TRIP COULD WORK.

And God is taking care of things.

GOD IS TAKING CARE OF THINGS.

But you probably never have situations like this, where you feel like you’re losing it?

12 Comments

    1. God is so good to match up my humble words with the needs of your heart. How much he loves us!!

  1. Oh, yes. Warm crow is always better than cold crow (I think??). And I DO know how it goes! I just wish I could cry with you over that cup of coffee. That’s all. That and I love you to pieces, that is.

  2. This is all too timely for my life ! At least you were brave enough to open that e-mail marked Family Road trip …I wasn’t brave enough and deleted it 🙁 Not because of the family road trip ( we just went on one to Fernie, BC and it was fabulous) but because of other family plans coming up this summer . I am really trying hard not to lose it . I mow the lawn and my stomach hurts and I am trying not to be overwhelmed by all the plans coming up . Thanks for this great Post ! I know God will take care of things..I just need to simmer down and let Him.
    -leticia

    1. It feels like summer is supposed to be relaxing, but it can really hold a lot of big activities. I totally get it!!

  3. Julie Early says:

    So what I needed this morning. Feeling sorry for myself over my injury. Focusing of course I what I can’t do. Instead I need to focus on where I’ve come and what I still can do!

    1. I am a million times sorry you injured your leg!!! Summer is so short. My sympathies, dear friend.

  4. Thank you Christy for this post. Sometimes I think you tell too much truth, but there is no such thing. We are the followers of the Truth and the Truth shall set you free. When we stay in our heads, we start believing the lies, but God. He is so Faithful.

    1. I actually sat on this post all day before sharing it, wondering if I was being too honest. But when I started this blog I decided I wanted to sit down every day and write about what God is doing in my life. Sometimes that makes for an eloquent and faith-filled story. Sometimes it’s just ugly and leaves me thanking God his mercies are new every morning. I hope what my readers see is that God stays and stays and stays, despite our fickle ups and downs of faith.

  5. Tonya Gatlin says:

    OHHH my mercy, I do-I totally do! Your honesty and your timing are SPOT ON! THANK YOU for sharing-praying this will be the best road trip EVER!!!

    1. Well you are welcome. 🙂 And I thank you for that prayer. I do believe today’s post calls for a follow-up, post-road-trip story, don’t you think?

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