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Taken
from the July/August 2006 parish
magazine.
Life is a roller coaster for many people. It certainly is for our young
people taking exams. The stress and hard work of revising for exams are
followed by relief and celebrations when the tests are over. Then the
build up of stress again, waiting for results followed by either the
elation of doing well or the disappointment of not doing as well as
expected. Then the question of what to do next. Even those who get a
good qualification still face the difficulty of finding a job that will
be fulfilling or even just supply money to live on.
As we get older we are affected by relationships, our work situation
and many other things. Basically life is stressful. It pays to think
about how our faith can help us.
Firstly
we can take rest seriously. It is all too easy to fill our
time
with
activities so that time for relaxation is pushed out. This is an
application of the command to keep a day of rest, not just one day a
week but also to take breaks during the day. I read a study recently
that linked the fact that French people lived longer than British
people with the fact that they are much better than we are at taking
lunch breaks. Holidays too are a good way of putting the command into
practice and summer is a great time to do it. Each of us will find
different things restful and it is helpful when we understand ourselves
enough to know what works for us.
Secondly we can face up to our concerns, but not just to get into a
state of worry that does not give any benefit: “Who of you by
worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (NIV, Matthew
6:27).
We can place our anxieties with God through prayer. This does not make
our problems disappear, but it does give us resources to deal with
them. Importantly we can have faith and trust in God himself, who
watches over us. As Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:7-9: “But we have
this
treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from
God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but
not
crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed” (NIV). There are
many more
things we can do; let us encourage one another in the ups and downs of
life.
Rev W Henderson
