December 18, 2017

I was having a conversation with our oldest daughter last evening. She was telling me that it is accepted as normal for Millennials to be stressed and anxious! She was sharing some realizations with me about who she is and what she has learned about herself and I was relating things I have learned about myself and how we have some similarities.

I am so happy for her that she is learning not to be stressed and anxious at a young age and she is accepting of her self in areas that she feels the culture saying; “press through, try harder, suck it up”! She is learning where to let go and accept her limitations and seek peace in stead of striving in her life.

I have been re reading Dale Carnegie’s book; How to Stop Worrying and Start Living! A co worker gave me this book to read when I was 18 years old and working in a dead end job. I didn’t have a relationship with The Lord the first time I read it, but the bits of scripture that were peppered through the book made me curious enough to read The Bible.

Carnegie gives three steps for eradicating worry that were devised by Willis H. Carrier, the engineer who launched the air-conditioning industry, through his own journey with anxiety. He gave multiple examples of business people who have used these steps with life altering success. Even those who were on their death beds with stomach ulcers and other health concerns.

Carrier hailed  this as the Magic Formula for Solving Worry Situations: 

1. Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?”

2. Prepare to accept it if you have to.

3. Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.

I was presented with the opportunity to use these steps this past weekend! There were some relationship issues that were troubling me and I used this method to help myself deal with the situation. I also had to agree, that in the past when I was in a huge trial, that this is exactly what I had to do to move through it!

Jesus said: (Matthew 6:26) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

There have been times when Jesus Spoke clearly and directly to me regarding turbulent times and told me to look straight at Him and not the waves that were crashing all around me.  I know He doesn’t  want us to worry and be stressed. He wants us to trust Him.  I find, like Willis Carrier, that acceptance of the situation is a must if we want to move forward in peace. And acceptance requires thinking about the situating, counting the cost, and accepting my part or failure in any given situation.

Back to the conversation I had with my daughter, I was so grieved that so many young people feel hopeless and helpless, paralyzed by stress. Of course in my Aromatherapy business, I have designed my Calm Down and Lighten Up roller bottle for just that sort of support. I am also aware that there is an anxiety epidemic in the world that play out in many  mental health and behavioral problems. Debilitating diagnosis like,  Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, is not just reserved for those who have been in war like situations. So, I felt so inspired to write and bring a glimmer of hope and help to some one else who may be struggling with this 21st Century “disease”.

Get knowledge! And in all your getting, get Understanding! I pray for each of you as I pray for myself, that we would not worry and we would have The Peace that surpasses all understanding to guard our hearts and minds. Happy Monday, have a peace filled week<3