I’ve had a tough few weeks. There haven’t been any major issues, just a lot of little ones. They built up until they became almost overwhelming. I’ve been on the verge of panic attacks. Let me give you a quick breakdown.

• A few months ago, at work, we didn’t have a lot of work. Just enough to keep us busy but not enough to provide any real challenge. Then I picked up a couple of projects. Now I’ve gone from cruising to flat out as both of the projects require 2-3 days a week of effort and I still have my normal duties.
• One of my clients has joined a project two years in and has his own ideas on what should happen, despite the fact that everything was agreed, signed for and paid for nearly 2 years ago. Any contact with him tends to be antagonistic and I dread the phone ringing.
• My step daughter’s grandmother passed away and we had to find airfare for her to fly to the other side of the world. You can’t get cheap flights on short notice. To go to the funeral, she left behind two small children and a partner that was also in the middle of a custody battle for his children with his ex and is quite stressed himself.
• Same daughter and partner are getting married late in the year and seem to be leaving everything to us. We are being left to pay for it. Now we don’t have a lot of spare cash and th end of the year draws near at an alarming rate. We have no idea how we are going to pay for the wedding she seems to want.
• For said wedding we will be hosting four overseas family members. We have lot of work to do around the house to fit them in. We also need to find some money to show them around so they can enjoy their trip.
• My car is due for registration and it’s making a funny noise in the front. I’m worried it may be an expensive fix. More money we don’t have.
• I have a cataract growing in my right eye. It’s making reading harder and I spend a lot of time in front of a computer and reading for work. It’s not bad enough for surgery and I really don’t fancy any more surgery on my eye (I had a torn retina a few years back).
• Whilst our pastor was away (5 weeks) I stepped up to be the main guitar player. Whilst I loved it, I found is stressful. What if I made a mistake and ruined worship?

Each of these things by themselves are just speed bumps in life. Nothing that should make me “lose it”, but all together it was almost more than I could bare.

On Thursday, I was driving home almost panicking about Friday due to what I had to achieve and who I had to deal with. I offered up a quiet prayer “Lord give me strength”.

Nothing happened.

“I can’t handle it”.

Still nothing.

So I turned off the radio and just poured it all out to the the Lord. A scripture popped into my head.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philipians 4:13)

I said it out loud. I said it again. I said it a load more times. I kept saying it until I really started believing it.

I started to feel a lot better. Then I laughed.

Our pastor was away for a few weeks and whilst he was away, our youth pastor stepped up to provide the sermons.

The theme for her sermons? “Jesus take the wheel”.

Now I enjoyed the sermons. They were thought provoking and I learned to look at a few people in the Bible with a new perspective. I didn’t think they were particularly aimed at me, though, because I pretty much had things in hand. Yeah, right.

I can be quite thick at times.

I was too busy owning all of my stress to realise that I should be asking for Jesus to take the wheel. He cares about the small things as well as the big things.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

That can be quite easily translated into modern day parlance as:

Let Jesus take the wheel

Says it all really.

Thanks Cassie…