Do Not Neglect the Small Life Stressors
It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. I was on a private veranda of a cruise ship as we sailed out of the port of Venice, Italy. The city of Venice was filled with buildings of pale, sun-washed colors all sparkling along the water’s edge. The sun was shining in the late afternoon, the sea was calm, and the water lapped along the ship’s side. Suddenly, my eyes were drawn away from the soothing sight to the small boats below us.
People yelled from their small crafts as they zipped by at a fast pace and honked their horns. I began to watch the boaters instead of taking in the soothing sites of Venice. I took my eyes off the calm, serene beauty of the city and focused on the buzzing annoyance of boats below. It reminded me that sometimes the little things in life can be even more distracting and destructive as the big things in our lives.
Major life stressors often come equipped with natural life helps. Medical stressors often come with equipped medical personnel who have the knowledge to help us make informed decisions and deal with a medical crisis. Major life changes (marriage, birth of a child, death in a family, the empty nest, aging parents) often provide us with people who have walked the road before and who now can provide support and assurance. As Christians we have the added strength of our faith and friends who come alongside and provide a touch from God that gives us what we need to get through the major life events and crisis moments. These major life events often draw us closer to God, our mate, and other believers.
Smaller life stressors can lead to more devastation than those experienced during the major life stressors. Many people experience private life stressors – in the quiet of their hearts. Smaller life stressors are sometimes the everyday distracters and irritants that slowly away eat away at life’s joy and purpose. Sometimes people don’t even realize the toll of the small life stressors until it is too late. At that point, people can find themselves totally unable to process and cope with life.
These smaller life stressors can be stressful relationships with people, hurtful statements, anger due to household issues, and reoccurring work-related issues. These stressors can impact blood pressure, emotional stability, productivity, and the ability to function. If you allow these smaller stessors to eat at your life, you will find yourself unable to fulfill your purpose as a woman, wife, mother, or friend.
Smaller life stressors are often masked by the realities of our daily schedule. Urgent requests and responsibilities keep us from responding to the small stressors in our own lives – friends want to go eat lunch, members of our churches phone, someone was misunderstood and needs care, the clothes need washing, the kids need help with homework, the bed are still not made. The basic life responsibilities of each day can scream so loud that we don’t even hear our own bodies and souls crying for care.
Determine to address the small stressors to avoid negative impacts on your spiritual, physical, and emotional life. The tough solution is to change your focus. Stop. Notice what is going on in your life and address the little things that continue to drain you. Failing to acknowledge the stressors keeps you from being able to respond with an appropriate course of action. Ask friends to pray for you as you honestly evaluate the stressors you need to address.
Then determine a course of action that enables to you to deal with your stressors in a biblical manner to allow the peace of God to take over. You might involve you’re your family and Christian friends to help hold you accountable for dealing with the little things in life that can lead to major problems when left unaddressed. Christian counseling is also effective in helping you identify and acknowledge your stressors and then working to eliminate the stressors in your life.
7 Quick Ways to Deal with Stressors
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