Day Forty Seven - How To Handle Stress

Some days, no matter how on top of the ball you're trying to be, you're not going to be on top of it at all. Today was one of those days for me. Right around 2pm I was sitting rather pretty. I was almost done with all of my 'to-do' list for the day, was planning on clocking out around 4 and just chillaxing. That was not what the day had in store for me. Instead, I frantically reformatted and corrected documents, created those that were missing, and called parents. Around 5 o'clock I got a call from a parent that basically informed me that I had no idea what was going on at a school for which I had hoped scheduling issues were a thing of the past. But today's blog is not about my job. There are always going to be days that I feel like this. No matter how good I am at my job. The point is how to handle it.

I'm not good at stress. My doctor told me so and writes me a prescription for it. Which I never take. So there's that. But I try to be superwoman at my job, and today I really had to realize that I can't be superwoman. Not that I'm going to stop being awesome at my job, no, not even a little. I love my job. I love even the stressful duties because it feels so good when they're handled and I know that they're handled well. Reformatting documents is my thing. But I also have to realize that me staying up thinking about it til 10pm isn't helping anyone either. I have to be able to step back from my job and leave my work at work. Which is harder than I thought it would be, being as I work from home. 

Which is why I have a new plan. Unless its design work (which doesn't stress me out but ignites a little fire in me), then I am indeed, clocking out at a reasonable hour each day. I understand that this means that I will have to start earlier in the day, and I'm really okay with that. There needs to be a very firm line between 'work hours' and 'life hours'. Yes, I have work to do in the morning. But that's what the morning is for. To work. And I'll be far more capable of doing everything, and doing it the best of my abilities, if I can step back and enjoy my night and relax and wake up refreshed rather than stressed out. 

My work ethic isn't changing, but my work plan is. And I feel really good about it. Tonight, instead of stressing over the phone calls I have to make in the morning and the scheduling issues that need to be dealt with, I had a 3 hour chat with my best friend. I told her she needed to make me laugh and she did. And then we kept talking and I felt myself stressing out less and less, knowing that tomorrow would handle itself if I handled myself tonight. 

Because curve balls are not my specialty, but they are God's. Because there is no curve ball when He is omniscient. He knew today would happen this way, and planned for it. He's not just the God of church, He's the God of everything, and that includes my job and my company. I don't doubt that His hand is upon it and that He'll work things out for His good. I know this sounds very, "God, please let my team win the super bowl" esque, but it's not to me. To me, it's much sillier to take Him out of my job, instead of inviting Him into it. Through it, He has already taught me so much: the value of an amazing boss, and of great coworkers, the value of a job well done and of being appreciated for it, the value of believing in a good cause and working for it, even if the reward isn't here yet. And tonight He used it to teach me about how He wants me to handle my stress, and that is ALWAYS to bring it before Him, whether it's work related or not. 

That's what I learned today. Did God have anything unexpected for you?