Rely on the Lord

Lately I have realized how I have been given a gift to remain calm in stressful situations. When my younger brother was in an accident, I had to be the adult (note I am only 18). My dad was in Tennessee, my mom had just had surgery, and my older has really bad anxiety in situations like the one we were in. Therefore, I had to be the one who remained strong and calm throughout the night and into the next day. Recently, I had to call a squad for a friend who was ill. This was a situation that would be considered scary, stressful, and one where most people would not typically be calm. There was another time where we had to call a squad because a friend overdosed on medicine, and was essentially on the verge of suicide. I remained with her, allowing her to lay on me and rest in me as we sat there together waiting on the squad to come. Again, I remained entirely calm, and helped others around us remain calm.

 This is indeed a gift granted to me by God. However, there is more to it my ability to remain calm. During these stressful times I prayed, especially to the Blessed Mother seeking her intercession. I would pray Hail Mary's continuously because it was a simple prayer. Often during these situations I was very panicked internally, but externally I was able to remain calm.

This day, Good Friday, the day Jesus died, and filled the void between man and God, I encourage all of us to look at the Carrying of the Cross, when a strange man helped Jesus to carry His cross because Jesus was so weak from being beaten.

Brothers and sisters, we need our Father. God wants us to turn to Him. He wants to be the rock on which we rely. He wants to be our strength, and he is with us, even when don't acknowledge his presence in our lives. Dear friends, I simply want to encourage you to rely more on our good and gracious Father for strength. The more we pray, the more we come to know God, the better our lives will be and the better we will be able to handle stress and anxiety.

God bless!