Have you ever seen a list of the top 10 life stressors? While the lists vary, they almost all include the death of a loved one, a job change, a move, an illness, a change in marital status, the birth of a child, and other significant life events. In the summer of 2014, I divorced after an 18-year relationship, moved to Oklahoma City after spending 20 years in Norman, and started a new job after 8 years of investing myself with my work and colleagues. All of this within six weeks.
Stress is not actually caused by any event, itself, but is caused by how we perceive our own ability to cope with the event at hand. Needless to say, my ability to cope was low, the lowest in my life. I will never forget a friend inviting me to church the first Sunday I moved to Oklahoma City. “You don’t have to join the church,” she said, “but just come with us this Sunday.” And so I did.
It had been a long time since I had felt God present with me. I never doubted that He was there but His presence seemed far away at the time. I had not had a church home for some time. I was enjoying the service and had met many new people but, in my mind, I was still struggling. Thoughts about what would I do after church or how would I feel about going home to an empty house were running through my mind.
As Dr. Long began to preach he read:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
It was God’s call to Abram. It was exactly the message I needed to hear. Almost as if God was saying, “I am not far from you. I am here. I am with you…and I’m trying to get you to listen!”
In that moment, I knew my stress was not because of the events of my life but because I was trying to tackle these things alone. God hadn’t forgotten me; I had forgotten Him! I would only have the strength I needed by quieting my anxious mind so I could truly hear God’s messages for me.
The summer of 2014 is when I truly began to understand what it meant to give my worries to the Lord and to be still during trying times. During this Advent season, I hope that you will be able to quiet the anxiety and stress so that you will be able to truly hear God’s messages for you.
Robyn Hilger, Executive Director, El Sistema Oklahoma
