Stresses that Fracture

I'm taking that title this morning as it is the title of a chapter in one of the books I'm reading as a devotional.   I'm going to try to relate it to my life, but will steal also from the book The Finishing Touch by Charles Swindoll.

Stress.  That confusion created when one's mind overrides the body's desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately needs it.   (sound like something you have - and someone you know?)

You won't find that definition in the dictionary, but right now I think it should be.   Up until recently (yes, things have been going quite well this week) that is what my life has been.  Extremely stressful.  And as stress has been here before, I know that I can expect it to come again.

Over-commitment.  Deadlines for work.  Meetings to attend.  Minutes to take.  Reports to create.  Surveys to send out.  Unrealized expectations.  People problems.  Calls to return.  Letters I need to write.  Major interruptions for whatever reason.  Enormous vet bills that say the dog has an itch and to buy a cream for it (that you may only use twice).  Choked traffic lanes on the freeway.  Eating too much, too fast.  Refrigerators dying.  Emails piling up and getting larger.  Letters or texts from someone close to you that feels they need to correct me, to put me down.  Texts that I have no idea where they come from, what created the hatred in the words.  Text after text from someone who I loved and cherished and destroyed my faith.

That was 7 years ago.  And the number 7 is symbolizing completeness.  I forgave that person years ago, but the words crush me as deeply today when they come at me.  No, they don't come from that person directly, but from the enemy.   I turned the other cheek because I knew not from where this intense hatred and anger came.   They were a jerk.  I never said that before.  I shared with a few people what had happened, but no one knows the stress it put upon my life.  Upon my walk with God.

Oh I know that God never failed me.  Was it a test?  Was He seeing what I would do?  Did He allow this person to beat me up so badly that I felt devalued and worthless?  Perhaps it was the timing of it all.  If it had happened another time - and actually one similar to it had happened, and I cried, broken-hearted.  I forgave, and moved on.  When you suffer from stress fractures, the soft cushion of tolerance gets deflated, leaving nerves raw and feelings bloody.

There was a Sports Illustrated article years ago that painted a vivid picture.

   'A stress fracture begins when the shocks and strains of playing game after game create microscopic cracks in the outer layers of the bone - usually in the legs and feet.  If the pounding continues and those tiny crevices, which often go undetected, aren't allowed to heal, they can enlarge.  When the cracks become large enough to cause pain, they are stress fractures.'

Stress fractures aren't limited to athletes.  Microscopic cracks in bones are painful,, but can they match the hurt of a stress-fractured spirit....an aching heart?  That's a pain like none other, isn't it?  It's deep.  It throbs.  It lingers in the day and haunts you through the night.  And sometimes hangs in there on your heart for weeks, for months, for years.

Some folks treat their stress fractures with booze and drugs, extramarital affairs, and hyperactive lifestyles, pouring themselves into their habits, or into their jobs. That's no treatment.  It's  more like pouring a jug of gasoline on a match.  There has to be a better way.

So what do we do to stop the pounding?  Ah, that's the question.  "Lighten up" is a start.  Try not to make a federal case out of everything that happens.  Then, laugh more. Admit those imperfections.  Let some stuff go.  Don't try to be Wonder Woman or the all-powerful Superman.  Talk to a friend.  Get away for a fun weekend.  Go see a movie.  Get absorbed in a fine, relaxing book.  You might even go sit outside under the stars and look at that wonder.  Most of all, Let It Go. 

Above all, turn it over to God.  Tell Him everything.  He has no problem hearing about our hurts.  Furthermore, He can keep any secret you tell Him.  He can even handle it when you yell.  He already knows about it, and is waiting for you to tell Him what you feel.  Tell Him your hurts, what makes you angry, what causes you stress.

As the pounding lessens, so will the pain of trying to hold it in.  Whenever the enemy brings the pain back upon me, I always need to turn it back to God and allow Him to fill me with His peace.  And He does.  He loves me.  And He loves you.  Unconditionally.

Blessings.