Faith

Forgiveness and gratitude

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I had my final PRRT treatment (also called radioisotope therapy) today. I’ve been injected with potent radioactive material at Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute fourteen times; MIBG twice and then Lutetium twelve times as part of a clinical trial. The clinic staff and other patients seemed to think that reaching this milestone was pretty exciting. In one sense, I guess it was, but it also feels a bit like stepping off a cliff! My neuroendocrine cancer (NETs) has been stable for almost six years, the entire time that I’ve been undergoing treatment. The tumours have not grown or spread. In fact, earlier on there was even some indication that they might be shrinking. I’m happy not to have to go through any more of these treatments and the week of radioactive seclusion that follows each one, but the stepping off a cliff sensation comes from the fact that I’ve now exhausted the best treatment option available. The human body can only withstand so much radioactivity. Even if the government agreed to fund more treatments, the doctors wouldn’t advise them for me. The plan from here on in is to simply monitor my cancer with blood work, CT scans, and clinic visits every six months. Considering the fact that NETs is incurable, that’s a bit unnerving. (I will continue to receive the monthly injections of Sandostatin that control symptoms and may have some effect on the tumours themselves.)

The Cross Cancer Institute is set up to administer PRRT treatments to three patients at a time. We sit together, each of us in a comfortable recliner, in a room set aside for this purpose. The process takes approximately four hours, so naturally we visit and share our cancer stories. I’ve never been with the same patient twice, so that’s quite a few stories over the past few years and each one is unique.

Today I shared the treatment room with a retired school teacher from Victoria, BC and a retired school administrator from a community much closer to my own. How unusual and how interesting that three retired educators ended up in that room together! Our conversation quickly came around to the fact that while we don’t choose many of the circumstances of our lives, including cancer, we do choose how we respond to them. Then the retired principal, an upbeat and cheerful man, made a comment that really resonated with me. He said that he believes that there are two keys to living a happy, successful life: forgiveness and gratitude.

That thought stuck with me throughout the remainder of the day. It’s definitely very true for me. I won’t go into detail, but I have had much to forgive, and in spite of that, I’m the first to admit that I also have much to be grateful for.

After pondering for awhile, I googled “forgiveness and gratitude” and was surprised to find many articles linking the two. Even more surprising to me was the fact that these weren’t Christian or religious writings. The fact that forgiveness and gratitude are positive psychological characteristics that are connected to well-being seemed to be a common theme. Both terms are complex and neither is easy to define.

Forgiveness is a conscious choice or decision to let go of anger, fear, self-pity, resentment, bitterness, hostility, and even hatred resulting from something someone has done to us or something that we’ve done ourselves and to replace those emotions with more positive ones such as peace, love, and joy. Forgiving a person doesn’t excuse what they did. It isn’t really about them at all; it’s about setting ourselves free. It releases us from the negative consequences of unforgiveness which may include anxiety, depression, and even physical symptoms of stress. It liberates us from a cycle of negativity and anger and allows us to open our hearts to gratitude, happiness, and love. I’ve heard it said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill the other person. 

Gratitude is a feeling of thankful appreciation for people, circumstances, and situations in life. Grateful individuals feel a sense of abundance, appreciate the simple pleasures of life, and recognize the contribution others make to their well-being.

Forgiveness is probably the more difficult of these two human virtues to put into action, but until we do, I think we’ll find it difficult to experience and express true gratitude. Professor Robert Emmons at the University of California, Davis, suggests that attitude change often follows behaviour change. By expressing gratitude that we may not necessarily feel through simple gestures like smiling and saying thank you, we may actually begin to feel it. The same is true of forgiveness. We may not feel like forgiving a person, but if we choose to act as if we have, we may eventually find that our resentment has faded away and we will, in fact, have forgiven them.

So, what does all this have to do with living with cancer? Obviously my cancers are no one’s fault. Not mine, not anyone else’s. However, if I was still living with unforgiveness, I doubt I’d have the emotional energy I need to deal with the ups and downs of this journey. And what about gratitude? Am I thankful for cancer? Absolutely not! That being said, however, I have so many things to be thankful for! In spite of having just been diagnosed with a third completely unrelated cancer, I feel healthy! I can eat almost anything I want, I can travel, hike, and even do a rope course with my grandchildren! I have an amazing circle of friends, family, and prayer warriors around the world loving me and supporting me and I have a faith that gives me “peace that passes understanding.” Philippians 4:7

Am I the courageous hero that people often tell me I am? No, I’m not, but as we concluded in our treatment room today, I can choose how I respond to my circumstances and I choose to be hopeful and positive. I choose to get on with life even if I feel a bit like I stepped off a cliff today.

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source: clipartfest.com

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

 

 

Cancer times 3!

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One of the great things about our recent trip to Europe was the fact that for three and a half weeks I was just a Canadian tourist enjoying the sights. I had no medical appointments during that time and no one who saw me would have guessed that I’ve been fighting a little known, incurable cancer for almost six years.

Unfortunately, life isn’t always like that. Less than 24 hours after stepping back onto Canadian soil, I had a needle biopsy of my thyroid. I was visiting family in Vancouver when a call came from the doctor’s office. “He wants to see you,” I was told. I knew immediately that the news wasn’t going to be good. Dr W is a very busy man and he wouldn’t ask to see me without good reason, especially when he knows that I live two hours outside the city.

Since I’m having what will likely be my final PRRT treatment tomorrow morning followed by scans the next day to see if there has been any change to my neuroendocrine cancer (NETs) in the past six months and I’ll also be meeting with those doctors to discuss future treatment options, I convinced Dr W’s receptionist to have him call me. I wanted to know what else I was up against before that discussion took place.

The suspicious looking nodule in my thyroid is indeed another cancer, the third completely unrelated cancer in the past six years. Cancer number two which was located in my left parotid (salivary) gland was diagnosed seven months after the NETs cancer. It was removed surgically followed by six weeks of radiation.

At this point, I don’t even know what this new cancer is called, but Dr W hastened to assure me that it isn’t aggressive and that it is, in fact, quite common in people over the age of 65. Many live their entire lifetime without even knowing they have it. Apparently common practice is simply to monitor it, but since we already know that mine is growing, it may require more than that. I’ll be seeing Dr W next month to discuss options.

My first cancer diagnosis came as as a complete shock and the second one almost as much so. At that point, I didn’t know that second cancers have been reported to occur in 10 to 20% of patients with neuroendocrine cancer. I have no idea what the incidence of third cancers is, but I’m guessing that I’m not the first one to travel this road.

I do know that I’m not stressing out over it. I’m resting in the “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7). The Lord promised to take care of me at the beginning of this journey and I’m pretty sure He’s still on the job!

At the same time, this might be a good time to remind myself once again what cancer cannot do.

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One word for 2019

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After choosing one word to guide me each of the past two years, I’ve been thinking hard for awhile now about what word to choose for 2019. My word for 2017 was Still and for 2018 I chose Grace. I was absolutely amazed over the past year at how often and in how many different contexts the word grace cropped up. It was even chosen as part of the name of an new online ministry to hurting women that I’m involved in, Renewal By Grace!

As a lover of words, choosing one word for each year is a perfect exercise for me. There’s even a whole #OneWord365 movement on the internet urging members to choose just one word to focus on every day, all year long; a word that sums up who they want to be or how they want to live.

After considering and rejecting numerous possibilities for the coming year, I finally settled on Inspire.

It took awhile for me to accept that inspire was an appropriate choice. At first I wondered if it was arrogant to want to be an inspiration to other people. After all, one of the characteristics of a woman of grace is humility. Would choosing inspire as my word for 2019 be the opposite of that?

In addition to choosing a word each year, I select a scripture verse to go along with it. When I searched for a Bible verse about inspiring others, I found many about being an encourager. Encourage is, after all, a synonym for inspire. That convinced me that the word I’d chosen was, in fact, an acceptable one. The scripture passage that I chose is very simple. The first part of 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” It’s not a stretch to imagine that saying “Therefore inspire one another…”

Once I settled on my word, I began to think about why I’d chosen it. Why do I want to be an inspiration and to whom? Perhaps it’s the teacher in me. After all, much of what a teacher does is to try to inspire his or her students to learn, to grow, to become all that they can be. Perhaps it’s also the desire to live a life of significance even in retirement.

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As I think about being an inspiration to others, I’m reminded of the verses in Titus 3 that urge older women to be an example to younger women and to teach them the ways of godliness. My life is full of younger women… daughters, friends, students past and present, even some I’ve never met but who read my blog regularly. I am often inspired by them. Perhaps I can also be an inspiration to them this coming year through the words I say, the things I write, and the way I live my life.

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Have you ever thought of choosing one word to guide you through a new year? Can I inspire you to give it a try? Happy New Year!

12 Days of WholyFit

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Some of you who saw my recent fitness photos on Facebook have been asking what they were all about. WholyFit is a Christian alternative to yoga that offers fitness workouts for body, soul and spirit. Sessions are taught by well trained fitness professionals using exercise techniques that meet industry standards. Carrie is one such instructor. I’ve known her since she was a child and I took a series of classes from her a couple of years ago. When she introduced a 12 day fitness challenge on her Facebook page earlier this month, I decided to give it a try.

I know that there are some Christians who believe that we should never bend our body into yoga-like poses because in doing so we are bowing to false gods. What absolute poppycock! In very simple terms, yoga is a spiritual and ascetic discipline which includes breath control, meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily positions that are designed to be relaxing and to increase physical strength and stamina. While yoga has its roots in ancient eastern religious thought, it is not a religion and it definitely doesn’t own the poses!

As with anything else, it’s a matter of intentionality. The Bible tells us, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). As long as we don’t become obsessed with our own physique, when we take care of our bodies, we honour and glorify the God who made them and we equip ourselves to be better able to do the work He gives us to do. If we contemplate or meditate on His Word or His works while we stretch and pose, so much the better!

On December 5, Carrie posted the first challenge. Each day participants were to practice the pose at home, snap a selfie, and post it on their Facebook page. The idea was to try to hold each pose for 5 to 10 breath cycles (inhale and exhale). In some cases, I was able to do that quite easily. In others, not so much! The entire exercise took two weeks to complete because, in accordance with scripture, Sundays were a day of rest. For those of you who haven’t already seen my photos, I’m including all of them in this post. Since Richard is already well practiced at taking photos for the blog and it isn’t easy to take selfies while holding the poses, he acted as my willing photographer.

Day 1  –  Cross Balance

This pose was very similar to one that I’d been working on in a Balance and Mobility program that was recently offered by Alberta Health Services. Though I can hold it significantly longer than I could at first, I’d eventually like to be able to lift my back leg higher and keep it straighter.

Day 1 copy

Day 2  –  Side Shield

I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be able to do this pose and was delighted to find that I could!

Day 2 copy

Day 3  –  Bell

This one looked easier, but it wasn’t as simple as I thought it would be.

Day 3 copy

Day 4  –  Overcomer Side

I discovered after the fact that the palms of my hands should have been upward instead of down on this one which would have engaged different muscles. Oops!

Day 4 copy

Day 5  –  Candlestick

As opposed to being a static pose, this one involves slowing lowering yourself into this position and then reversing back up to a standing position keeping the heels lifted throughout.

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Day 6  –  Sword

Carrie gave us two versions of this one and I opted for the simpler one. She advised that we not try the more advanced version unless we had first practiced this one sufficiently as it requires greater shoulder strength. Though lifting weights and paddling the kayak have given me fairly strong shoulders, I knew that I’d best leave the advanced version for the younger set and not take a chance on injuring myself. As on Day 1, I was surprised at how difficult it was to fully straighten my extended leg.

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Day 7

Carrie designated Day 7 Blooper Wednesday. Her instructions were: Post your best blooper picture (if you’ve got one). Spend some time practicing 1 or 2 postures that you’ve worked on so far. Reflect on all the ways God is making you NEW and thank him for it 💕Since I’ve been weeding out photos and getting rid of ones I don’t want to keep, I didn’t have a blooper photo to post, but the latter part of her message resonated with me. Have you ever stopped to ponder how truly amazing our bodies are? Though my body is riddled with cancer and there are various parts that don’t work as well as they once did, I can walk, dance, kayak, hike, ride a bike, hug a loved one, lift weights, and bend into and balance in all sorts of poses! I can hear, see, taste, talk, think, and reason. I have so much to be thankful for! 

Day 8  –  Breastplate

Again, Carrie gave us two versions and this time I was able to do the more advanced one!

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Day 9  –  Forward Dove

This one definitely needs work. Again, it was a challenge to get the extended leg as straight as it ought to be and I kept threatening to tip over before Richard could get a picture!

Day 9 copy

Day 10

By Day 10, the poses were getting more difficult and I wondered if I’d be able to do the final two! Carrie’s instructions for this one were to drop one hand or two to the heels. One hand I could do, but two was an impossibility! I simply can’t arch my back that much.

Day 10 copy

Day 11  –  Shield of Faith and Fire Extinguisher

Carrie gave us two poses to try on Day 11. The idea was to hold the first pose, Shield of Faith, and then drop one hip to the floor and move into the second pose, Fire Extinguisher. That one just felt like I was relaxing on the floor!

Day 11a copy

Day 11b copy

Day 12

As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about back on Day 10! The final two days weren’t too difficult after all. Overall, I’m pretty proud of what this 66 year old body was able to do.

Day 12 copy

If exercise, getting in shape, particularly increasing balance and flexibility, are on your list of New Year’s resolutions, I’d definitely suggest giving WholyFit a try. It’s more than just an exercise program as it offers faith centred health and wellness ministering to spirit and soul as well as body. If there isn’t a trained instructor in your area or you prefer to exercise at home rather than attending a group session, DVDs and video downloads are available on the website.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

Clothing ourselves for Christmas and always

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LogoFor me, fashion is a hobby, not a passion. I definitely want to look my best and I have fun putting together the outfits I wear, but I’m more concerned with who I am as a person than what I look like. The Bible speaks of this in Colossians 3:12 where it says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Verse 14 of the same chapter says “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

These thoughts seem particularly appropriate as we approach the busy Christmas season. There are lots of ways to show compassion and kindness at this time of year, whether it be making a donation to your local food bank or filling a shoebox for an underprivileged child, but what about patience? That can be a tough one, especially when you’re trying to navigate a busy shopping mall or you find yourself caught in the slowest line at Walmart while the harried cashier waits on a price check.

One of the ways that I try to deal with the busyness of the Christmas season without losing patience is to plan ahead. I’m almost completely finished my Christmas shopping and while I’m stuck at home over the next few days, I plan to decorate and do some Christmas baking. I’ve also made a list of the various Christmas events that we’ll be taking part in during December and I’ll be shopping my closet to put together outfits and accessories for each one. That way, when it comes time to dress for each event, I won’t have the stress of trying to figure out what to wear. Instead, I’ll be in the right frame of mind to put on the qualities of He whose birth we celebrate at Christmas!

Colossians 3;12-14

 

Still stable!

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Stable has become one of my favourite words! Not the kind you keep your horses in, but the word that my doctors use to tell me that my cancer has not grown or spread!

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I heard that word again today when I sat down with the doctor to discuss the results of the CT scans that I had back on August 21st. Waiting almost a month was difficult and I admit to having some episodes of scanxiety during that time. It was heaviest as I sat in the waiting room early this afternoon not knowing if the news would be bad or good. I had no reason to suspect that it would be bad; no symptoms to suggest that the tumours might be active or growing again, but the knowledge is always there that that day could come at any time.

When the doctor told us that everything continues to be stable, the load was lifted in an instant and I felt lighter than air! All the way home (a two hour drive) I felt as though, had my seatbelt not been fastened, I might have lifted right off my seat!

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And so I keep on hanging on, living life to the fullest, and praising the Lord!

 

The notion of “home”

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When and where are you truly at home?

Except for short stints of five months to a year spent living in Asia, I’ve lived in the same small Alberta town for more than four decades, but there’s always been deep within me a yearning to be somewhere else, to be traveling, to see new places. The dictionary calls it wanderlust.

When I did live overseas for a time, it sometimes felt almost surreal. I remember walking the streets of Funabashi, Japan shortly after our arrival there and marvelling that this place, so foreign, so different, and yet so fascinating was actually my home. I lived there!

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Funabashi

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The view from our apartment

A friend who has been an expat for almost six years, living in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now Mexico, recently said this: “I am very comfortable here, but every once in a while, say, once in six months, I will be out walking in my lovely colonial town, which looks nothing like what I grew up with, and all the sounds I hear are in a language which I did not grow up hearing, and it is like I am in some kind of strange dream place, and I wonder what is going on.” That got me thinking about the notion of “home.” What makes a place home and why is it that I always have that yearning to go somewhere else, to see someplace new?

I have a theory about why I feel this way. In the New King James Version of the Bible, 1 Peter 2:11 calls us “sojourners and pilgrims.” The New International Version translates it “foreigners and exiles.” The writer of Hebrews says that “we are looking for the city that is to come” (13:14), “longing for a better country—a heavenly one. (11:16) At best, we are temporary residents here. We are pilgrims on a journey. While there is much to be experienced and enjoyed along the way, I believe that there is deep within me a longing for that eternal home. That, I believe, is the source of my wanderlust, the reason that I could probably settle almost anyplace and yet not truly feel at home anywhere.

Interestingly, I was in the middle of sorting through my thoughts and had already started writing this post when I attended the funeral of a long time resident of our small community. Though she was only 71 years old, the lady who passed away had suffered debilitating illness and endured a great deal of pain in the final years of her life. In his message, entitled “Home Sweet Home”, the pastor told us of her readiness to go “home.” He referred to 1 Corinthians 5:1. “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Our bodies are but tents, temporary dwellings! Like refugees, we live in them until the time comes when we can go to a more permanent home.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not in any hurry to vacate my tent! In fact, with the help of medical professionals, I’m doing everything I can to keep it intact. Though life is often far from easy, it’s a wonderful thing to be able to enjoy all that we’ve been blessed with during our sojourn here on earth and I’m in no hurry to see that come to an end! I’ll have all of eternity to enjoy my heavenly home. In the meantime, I will continue to wander this globe, perhaps never feeling quite at home, but marvelling at all the good things that this life has to offer.  There is, after all, a lot of world that I haven’t yet seen!

Let your beauty shine through

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LogoAfter having our ceilings stripped and new stipple applied, then painting the living room, this week has been one of major house cleaning. If you had seen me in my painting duds or wearing old jeans and t-shirt while I applied furniture polish to practically every wood surface in the house, you would not have taken me for a fashion blogger. In fact, I’m quite sure I looked more like a fashion failure!

As these things tend to do, the work has taken longer and gone in different directions than we originally planned and while I try to post something on the blog at least twice a week, that hasn’t been happening. Suddenly it’s Friday again and I don’t have a new outfit or tidbit of fashion wisdom ready to share with you.

I have, however, been musing about something as I’ve applied oil to wood and polished it to a shine. The oil enhances the natural beauty of the wood. Similarly, what we wear only enhances the beauty that comes from within.

Stephanie Lahart, inspirational author of Overcoming Life’s Obstacles, puts it this way:

“Her outer beauty is just a bonus, but it is her inner beauty that’s most captivating. She’s loving, caring, kindhearted, empathetic, and genuine. She’s comfortable in her own skin, therefore, she’s able to compliment, celebrate, and build up others around her. She’s a quality woman with a strong sense of self! She doesn’t need the spotlight, because she is the light wherever she goes. Smart, confident, ambitious, and fearless… Beautifully created from the inside out.”

A woman like that can be dressed in rags (or painting clothes) and still be beautiful!

Scripture tells us:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”           1 Peter 3:3-4

So, whatever you’re wearing today… pay someone a compliment, do something kind for someone else, put a smile on your face and let the beautiful woman you are shine through.

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I’ll be in the city for another cancer treatment and some scans next week, so I should have an update on that front, and I promise a more traditional fashion post next Friday.

Thankful for a root canal?

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“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:8 is a scripture passage that can be very easily misunderstood. There are many things in life that I am not thankful for. Fortunately, I’m not told to be thankful for every situation, but rather in every situation. In even the most difficult circumstances of life, we can find things to be thankful for, whether it be the resources to handle the crisis or the support of family and friends through it.

That being said, I am actually thankful that early Monday morning I’m going to be having a root canal! How can that be? Thankful for a root canal? Am I crazy?

No, I would rather not have to have a root canal, but considering the other possibilities that crossed my mind after I discovered a lump on my gum a few weeks ago, I’m quite delighted that the problem is only an abscessed tooth and that the solution is as common as a root canal. You see, this is something that happens to ordinary mortals, not just cancer patients!

So, yes, as crazy as it sounds, I’m thankful for a root canal!

It isn’t going to be a simple procedure which is why it’s being done by an endodontist, a root canal specialist. The roots of this particular tooth are fused together. Apparently that’s not terribly uncommon, but it can make the procedure more complicated and it’s something my own dentist didn’t feel comfortable tackling. In spite of that, I’m still feeling

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Have you ever been thankful for something as crazy as a root canal?

What to do when life seems overwhelming

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What do you do when life seems overwhelming?

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Recent circumstances have resulted in us leaving the church that was our strong support system for many years. We’re living in the midst of a home renovation project gone very wrong and trying to figure out how to deal with that. I’m off to the city early next week to see a specialist about a lump growing on my gums that my dentist hasn’t been able to find the cause of. We’re moving into the busiest season of the year for me in one of the volunteer positions that I hold. And to top it off, we seem to be living through the winter that will never end.

You’ve probably lived through similar seasons. Maybe you’re there right now. You may be dealing with an enormous stressor such as job loss or the death of a loved one or it might simply be an accumulation of smaller aggravations that have left you feeling completely swamped.

So what should we do when life leaves us feeling like we’ve reached the end of our rope?

If you’re a young parent, you probably feel this way a lot of the time and with very good reason! I asked my daughter what her advice would be and her reply was, “In my case the answer is don’t bite off more than you can chew!” That’s good advice for all of us. Sometimes we’re the cause of our own stressful predicaments. We simply take on more than we can handle. None of us has an infinite amount of time available, so perhaps in those cases the answer is learning to prioritize, learning better time management skills, or simply learning to say No!

But what can we do when we’re overwhelmed by circumstances that are beyond our control? I’m reminded of a dear friend who often asks, “In the light of eternity, does this really matter?” Sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the situation from a wider perspective. Yes, the new ceiling surface that was applied throughout the main floor of our house on Saturday is a superb example of shoddy workmanship and will have to be redone. We’re not sure how or when that’s going to happen. As stressful and aggravating as that is, it isn’t life threatening and years down the road, it won’t seem as big a deal as it does right now.

The lump on my gum, however, could be a big deal. When you’re a cancer patient, any inexplicable lump or bump is reason for concern, but the same wise friend once reminded me that 99% of the things we worry about never come to pass and all the worrying in the world won’t prevent the other 1%.

Whether we’re overwhelmed by the busyness of life, legitimate concerns, or distressing circumstances that are not of our own making, there are things we can do to help alleviate stress when it threatens to overcome us. What works for me, might not necessarily work for you, but here are a few suggestions to try.

  1. Focus on getting through one day or even one hour at a time. Matthew 6:34 gives this wise advice, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.“
  2. Don’t skip meals. When I’m severely stressed my appetite is the first to go, but our bodies need fuel. Eat regularly to avoid low blood sugar, fatigue, and brain fog.
  3. Drink a cup of tea. My automatic response to crisis situations has long been to brew a pot of tea, but now studies conducted in the UK have actually shown that drinking a single cup of tea can significantly reduce anxiety levels after suffering a stressful experience.
  4. Escape. Go for a walk or a drive in the country, lose yourself in a good book, get out of the office over your lunch hour. Do whatever it takes to get away from the stressful situation even for a short time.
  5. Exercise. According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, exercise in almost any form acts as a stress reliever, providing a distraction from worry and boosting the production of endorphins, the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters.
  6. Pray. Prayer is an age old stress reliever that doesn’t require a prescription! Taking a few quiet moments to pray can help you gain perspective and find peace in the midst of turmoil. When the situation is so overwhelming that you can’t even find the words to pray, remember that Romans 8:26 tells us that “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.“
  7. Soak in a hot bath. Add a few drops of lavender oil which is commonly known for its relaxing effects on the body.
  8. Sleep. It may be difficult to quiet your mind enough to get to sleep when life seems overwhelming, but getting a good night’s rest should be a priority. A cup of chamomile tea half an hour before bedtime is widely regarded as a mild tranquilizer and sleep-inducer. Lavender oil can also be helpful here. Rub 2 or 3 drops on the palms of your hands and inhale deeply then wipe your palms on your pillow to leave a hint of lavender there.
  9. Don’t try to handle everything on your own. Delegate, ask for help, share your struggles. When stress doesn’t go away, and you’ve tried your best to manage it, you may need talk to a doctor or mental health professional about it. There’s absolutely no shame in that.