Stress = not okay

So I survived yet another semester (though I'm sure I lost quite a few brain cells in the process) despite all the emotional craziness going on in my life and the horrors of the wretched book entitled the Aeneid (if you're a diehard fan of this book then I truly don't mean to offend you, but this thing made a nerd like me want to drop out of college. Just saying....). Following my completion of this agonizing err educational experience that has resulted in lasting benefits for my life (at least it'd better considering how much I paid for it) I spent about a week vacationing from the normal stressful thoughts of my life. However, seeing as how it's me (and if you know anything about me you'll know that I get stressed about such things as what to have for dinner and whether or not someone despises my guts due to his/her not having texted me back in a five-minute time period), my vacation from stress-city was incredibly short-lived. I soon became swept into a spiral of concern over money (I live on my own now and pay my own bills and have determined from this that being a grown-up is incredibly overrated), whether or not I was doing enough to get accepted into graduate school (which is still two years away btw), and the responses of other people to me in my life (never mind that I virtually have no control over such a factor...).

Everytime I get swept into such a spiral, I tend to unintentionally disregard the fact that God is in control and He pretty much has to slap me across the face to get the point across. For instance, about a week ago an old song that has some personal meaning for me regarding to this issue came to my mind, and I thought, "well hmm that's interesting. but oh well. I guess I just randomly thought of it", and then went about my business. Well, a few hours later, I was on the way to work and this song (that is several years old and I literally haven't heard on the radio in months) comes blasting on just when I'm about to get out of the car. I was quite shocked to say otherwise. Yes, you might call it a coincidence, but it really impacted me and I consider it a message straight from God (like I said, I'm a tough person to calm down...).

If that wasn't enough, a few days later I was sitting in the laundromat doing my laundry (yes, I'm too poor to have a washer/dryer in my apt...ain't nobody got money for that..) and this random middle-aged man came over and sat down next to me and commented that he'd seen me at church. Fortunately I remembered seeing him there or else I probably would have run for the hills, laundry done or not, seeing as how I'd never talked to this man a day before in my life and I couldn't think of a non-suspicious reason for him to be randomly talking to me....Anyways, he started telling me about some of his experiences in life, how his faith in God had opened doors for him that he never could have opened for himself, and how if one trusts in God, God will use you right where you are and will provide for you. I was pretty blown away to say the least, and told that that was exactly what I needed to hear today. He responded with, "Yeah I felt that God wanted me to come over and talk to you today..." After that, I went from being pretty to completely blown away. After all, I'd strongly considered not even doing my laundry that day and had decided to go in on a last second whim. Having a total stranger speak to me on a topic that had been bothering me for weeks completely amazed me and was exactly the slap in the face that I needed from Heaven above. God truly does work in mysterious ways...

So no, I doubt that I'll ever completely be a stress-free, happy-go-lucky individual who thinks only thoughts of sunshine and roses for the rest of her days. However, I've truly been taught this week that stress is absolutely pointless when one is a follower of God. The Bible promises that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). As long as we as God's children are willing to serve Him and to put Him first in our lives, He's going to get us through life and use us right where we are. Yes, struggles and unfortunate things are going to happen in life, but God can bring good out of even the worst of situations and if we trust Him, He's going to get us through. He cares about every little thing that happens in your life  and wants to help you and get you through your struggles. So instead of stressing and trying to control everything, we need to pray, give all the control to God, and do the best we can with what we're given. If that isn't a winning life philosophy to live by, I don't know what is....