Don't get mad at me for this one.

My intentions here are not to offend anyone or to cause jealousy toward myself, but rather I am just continuing to note the things I am grateful for all month. Today I just happened to think about the 'lack of stress' in my life- at least the way I see it and I realized that I am grateful for that.
It may not seem like I live a low-stress life. In fact for some people, the idea of having 4 kids, ages 2 and a half to 7, is enough stress all on it's own, am I right?! Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sunday mornings can be our most stressful- I think that is what made me think about this topic in the first place. Yet, in the scheme of things, or compared to some people, I really live a very low-stress life, and I am truly grateful for that. In fact, I wanted to write myself this post, so that I'll have it for future reference on the days when I need a quick reminder. =)
I can't pinpoint an exact day or time when I first started living this low-stress life, but it's been awhile. I do know that I have a 'new definition' of stress since the time of Teagan's death and all the trauma that our family has lived through. Prior to our tragedy I used to worry about stuff or get concerned about things that were beyond my control.
I have sinced learned that a lot of things in life are out of my control, or at least a certain amount of things are going to occur that I cannot control. I have learned to not even waste my time thinking about these kinds of things or wondering how I can prepare myself for them. For example, my kids being sick...that can make a mom worried and stressed out, right?! My kids get sick on occasion. Our daughter, Wyndham was very fragile for a long time after her head injury. She was in and out of the hospital so many times that I lost count. It was emotionally draining and nerve-wracking at times...not knowing what to do next, not knowing what was our best healthcare options for her sometimes, and just the lack of sleep that goes with having a sick child, and the issues of maintaining life...like getting bills paid on time when you're hundreds of miles away at a hospital, and having to depend on friends to care for your other kids, etc. It can be very stressful. And that happened lots of times over the course of about three years.
Through those kinds of experiences I learned that the more I could 'let go', the easier it was for me to get through it. I use the term letting go, but what I am realizing is that I was actually turning my problems and worry and stress 'over'. I realized that stress and worry could literally suck the life out of me, and I wasn't happy with the way I looked whenever that happened. I didn't like the way I felt, or how I talked to people around me, or even how sad I felt inside. I would even get angry at things I had tried to move past- and I'd start a pity party for myself. I'd say things like, "Why does our family have to have all the big problems in life? Why can't other people get some of the struggles we face?" Or my most famous quote (ask Chip about this one) was simply whenever something went wrong- from our furnace not working, to our roof leaking, to Wyndham being ambulanced to Detroit Children's Hospital, I'd simply say, "Just My Life". It became my response to every little thing (even the McDonalds drive-thru order missing my fries!)...and it seemed that life was really piling up on me.
Slowly though, I'm realizing that things have gotten much better and brighter, and it isn't because my life is suddenly so rosy, (just today our McDonalds missed 2 cheeseburgers!) but I have learned to give my worries and cares to God. I have learned to lean on my faith- not just when things get really bad, but every single day! I am much better about handing all of my cares to God- often times before they have a chance to bring me down or cause worry or stress to pile up.
I am telling you, it isn't the most amazing thing, and yet it is! I think there are a lot of people missing out on this really wonderful opportunity in life. It's the chance to live life relatively stress-free. It means that you rely less on yourself, less on the uncertainty of the world around you to create the joy and assurance you want in life and instead, you rely totally on God. That's basically what faith is.
As I said, I am writing this mainly for my own benefit, and even as I write this it's making more sense to me. Of course I had more stress in my life before tragedy struck me and my family. My faith wasn't nearly as strong back then as it is now. And no wonder I am living a fairly stress free life from day to day...I hand all my problems to God and then depend on Him to carry me through or to give me the wisdom and strength to handle them as He would have me do. It's not always easy- sometimes I forget and try to do things on my own. Sometimes I think my problems are too small to bother God with them...and I let them cause more stress than they need to. But, most of the time I know that things will come my way, that "stuff' happens, that my future may be uncertain, but through it all, there is One who is dependable and trustworthy. It's my God, and I know that He has my best interest in mind. That is the key to my low-stress living. It's in the assurance I have that God is in control; it's in the faith that I put into practice every single day. When I keep my heart and mind focused on what truly matters in life, nothing can ever really stress me out. It's true. That's "Just My Life".