RHONDA MAY BE EXPERIENCING A LITTLE STRESS
My son and I just got done replacing his deck. It was pretty poorly constructed. One of the main issues was the decking and rails were not adequately anchored down. As the members dried in the sun, or resisted the force of gravity, they began to sag, twist, and cup.
It was back breaking work; well it was for me anyway now that I’m a little older. Initially we screwed each deck board once at each location with the intent to add a second anchor at each joist later. In two long days, we were nearly completed, but we ran out of time, and ran out of screws. The lumber was pretty wet, and as I left that day, I told my son to make sure to get the other screws in very soon. As the wet decking began to dry, I wanted to make sure the stress did not cause it to lift or twist.
Is stress a new word? Is society much more stressful then it used to be? I never recall hearing that word much growing up. It seems like that is one of the most popular words in our American vocabulary today. I’m not denying it’s real. I certainly felt plenty of it in my life and career. I’ve observed many who faced far more challenging circumstances too, and in comparison, I feel very blessed.
I’m pretty sure there has never been stress comparable to what Jesus faced in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:36-46
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”………
2 Corinthians 1:7-9
And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
Now, on occasion, I see my three sons experiencing some of the inevitable, but difficult, painful stresses this life has to offer. Sometimes they can really get twisted to the point that they are paralyzed and ineffective. I hate that they go through these difficulties, but happy when they seek advice in their challenges.
If they do, I try to be there for them. It seems like that is what Jesus wanted from his disciples in his darkest hour. I also try to help them stay anchored on the things that really matter like faith & family.
One thing I learned from building decks is to make sure they are adequately anchored to protect from damaging stress. One thing I learned from the Bible is to be there for the ones you love when they walk through those inevitable stresses of life.