Stress can be so stressful, right? We can feel anxiety, fear, anger; our hearts pound; we might break out in a cold sweat. Stress can make us feel depressed, isolated, and alone, and can even harm our physical health. Stress can cause us to respond to people in ways that damage our relationships. I am no stranger to finding myself snapping at people when I am stressed. If I have snapped at you, I am heartily sorry. Imagine that your heart is pounding; you feel like you can’t catch your breath; you might begin to sweat. These are signs of stress. But now imagine that you are exercising and feeling the same way. In fact, stress and exercise have the exact same biological response. Yet one is perceived as bad for you and the other is good for you. What makes the difference?
Stress can be experienced in two different ways, called distress and eustress. “Dis” means “bad” and “eus” means “good.” So, being chased by a vicious dog is distressing and going out for a jog is eustressing. You are running in both scenarios, but one feels bad and the other feels good.
I have been quite stressed of late (mostly of the distress type), and I have observed signs of stress in our congregations as well. I have seen hurt feelings and tears, angry voices, and people talking about others behind their backs (a sign of relational stress). This is all understandable as we continue to live with the uncertainty of what will happen regarding the merger we are exploring and the ongoing financial struggles in our churches. These truly are stressful times.
Yet, whether something is experienced as distress or eustress is largely determined by our attitude and even more by our faith. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:32-34 NRSV)
Change is stressful, as is uncertainty. When everything is on the line, even the smallest thing looms large. Nothing is larger than God’s love, and nothing can threaten us with Christ by our side. This does not mean that there will be no hardship, nor does it mean that things will be easy, and it certainly doesn’t mean that we will agree on everything. But it does mean that Christ is with us, and God’s purpose for us can only be thwarted by our own fear.
We can choose to let stress control us, or we can use stress to build stronger relationships and to become more resilient. We may bemoan this time of great change and deep compromise, or we can embrace the challenge and be grateful for the gift of building something new. Our theme at Charge Conference this year was “This is our time!” Truly, this is our time: Our time to be reborn, our time to be renewed, our time to live into a beautiful new reality, our time to build one another up, and our time to glorify God.
No doubt, these are stressful times, but this does not have to be distressing. These are exciting times, full of exhilarating possibilities as God is doing something in us and with us. We are blessed to be entrusted with this call to live into the practice of ministry in a new way. These challenges could tear us apart, but if we trust God and follow Jesus, I know that we will grow in faith, in love, in community, and become a truly new creation. This is our time!
I highly recommend a TED talk (on YouTube) about stress: “How to Make Stress Your Friend” by Kelly McGonigal at https://youtu.be/RcGyVTAoXEU?si=q7Mvn8lzAYJD8U9e
留言