We were visiting family in Atlanta, otherwise known as HOTlanta and had a great trip. If you deduct the horrid first day of travel (4 hour delay in DFW, most of which was stuck ON THE PLANE) and the trip back alone (traveling alone with a lap riding, exhausted, feverish, pre-toddler, not so fun I tell ya) it was FANTASTIC! We got to visit the Georgia Aquarium and Max went to his first Major League Baseball Game, Go Braves! The game also happens to be where I stumbled upon a bad case of ANXIETY.
I am not a huge fan of open heights. I don’t mind planes, or rollercoaster, basically anything where I am secured inside something. But open heights, like rooftops, ladders, ferris wheels, I HATE and despise those heights. Know what else falls into the open height category? NOSEBLEED SECTIONS OF MLB STADIUMS.
When we arrived at the game, the sweltering heat beaming down on us, I insisted along with the Madre that we HAD to sit in the shade. My fair skinned baby was slathered in SPF 55 Aveeno Sunscreen but I wasn’t about to let his beautimous skin get burned. The ticket seller guy told us that the only shaded seats left were at the top and we all agreed that shade was a must. So we bought our tickets, and at only $16 it was a steal!
And then we started the trek to find our seats. And then we had to take an elevator to get up the top. And then we emerged from the darkened tunnel and I saw how high up we were…deep breaths…deep breaths
I started the climb up the stairs to section 400 something Row 22, seat 105 and got there, sweaty and hot, and felt my anxiety kicking in…Oh Lord we are HIGH in the SKY. And I have a squirmy pre-toddler itching the walk and move and there is NO WAY I am letting go of him. Mental images of him falling darkened my brain, my body was filled with nervous energy and I couldn’t breathe. I handed him off to Coach G and looked away. Just watching him in someone else’s arms, standing on their lap and moving around was completely freaking me out. I prayed, I recited verse after verse, and I reasoned with my own mind but the anxiety drove on, numbing my enjoyment and feeding my stress level.
In the 7th inning, I escaped to the gift shop, Madre toting the baby down the stairs and I could breathe normally again for the first time in an hour.
Anxiety stinks…I have been having slight moments of anxiety since Max was born, sometimes in the middle of the night, or when trying to fall asleep, last week I spent an entire Monday moving at the speed of light trying the shake the anxious shakes. I KNOW that this is spiritual warfare; I know that I am being attacked mentally and spiritually but it doesn’t make it easy to deal with. I have even wondered if this God’s way of allowing me true empathy for my dear friend who has been having severe panic attacks and anxiety over the course of the past few weeks.
Either way, I have discovered the only thing that helps me is praying scripture. Here are some verses that have helped to calm my anxious heart and rest easy in the Lord. If you are having some anxious moments I encourage you to pray them out loud as often as needed to overcome your stresses. They certainly helped me survive Max’s first MLB game, high in the sky, in what I affectionately refer to as the scary seats.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Do not fret - it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25-26)
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. (Proverbs 12:25)
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (Psalm 55:22)
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Psalm 94:19)
Search me, 0 God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food and the body more than clothes. (Luke 12:22-23)
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. (Matthew 6:28-29)
So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or 'What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Matthew 6:31-32)
A man cannot discover anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)
Blessings for a calm spirit
10 Weeks Left!
81% Done with this Stinkin Deployment!
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