I confess that I cannot do life on my own. I’ve tried and it doesn’t work out for me.
In my time alone with Jesus, I’ve been reading about being so close with Him that it seems we are sitting side by side. That’s when He imparts His heart, His wisdom about my life. That’s what I want. I desire to be so close with Him that He can whisper and my ear will catch His next step for me.
Nerves. Stress. Anxiety. There is potential for stress in every aspect of our daily lives. But sometimes that stress grows into anxiety. You may feel racing thoughts come on, your heart beating faster, and butterflies in your stomach. Sometimes your muscles will tighten and you feel out of breath just sitting in your office chair. If this describes you trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, or when your boss asks for a meeting in their office, you’ve probably experienced anxiety.
Anxiety has been an unwelcome friend for as long as I can remember. I can think back to moment after moment where I felt like I was in the center of a hurricane and could not get out. I felt like I was spinning and then starting to drown. The tears would come and would not stop. Then the guilt would kick in; the “I know better than this,” “why is this so hard for me,” and “how did I get to here again.” My stomach is in knots just thinking about it.
I was having lunch with a friend a couple of weeks ago when she began telling me about a recent panic attack she had endured. I thought to myself, “Wait a minute...she struggles with anxiety, too? She always seems to have it all together!” In that moment I realized that so many of us struggle with anxiety, but we often keep it hidden because we think we are “less-than” every other woman. God is beginning to open my eyes to see that those are lies directly from Satan. Satan wants nothing more than to keep us isolated so we are ineffective for God’s calling on our lives.
