“The love of a family is life's greatest blessing”

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Is there such a thing as "good stress?"


Many people these days have alot of stress in their lives, including myself.  Now a days the mothers are having to work more to help support their families and less time at home with their kids.   If you are a family that has kids then you understand the meaning of stress.  I believe as a mother of two boys and a job things get a little crazy at times and you feel like you are so stressed out that you can not go on. In my house it seems I stress about alot but of course I am a worrier but what Mom isn't , right?  I work some mornings and way too many evenings so at night when I am working I am missing alot with my boys.   When working mornings, since my boys go to a private school (one of the main reasons I work) I have to figure out a way to get the boys to school and myself to work on time, then its time to make sure I get there in time to pick them up, which is always stressful because speeding is NOT a good thing, ha. 


 Since my boys are involved in several things which I am always encouraging, this adds to more stress. Both my boys are in the band at school playing the trumpet and have private lessons, so its always, "Don't forget your Trumpet". 
They have PE 2 or 3 times a week so it's always "Don't forget your PE clothes".  My oldest son is involved in sports at school so it is always "Don't forget your practice clothes".  Then it's the worry about how will I get him picked up from practice or games. Will I be able to go to the games or will I have to work?  It stresses me out having to miss so many of their activities because of work but I guess that's just part of life right now that I am praying really hard to be able to change.  
Then, of course, there is the everyday stress of making sure the homework is done, or they study for upcoming tests or quizzes and all their school projects get completed on time.
Their school has a Fine Arts competition every year where they can participate and perform in different categories such as speeches, band, choirs, trumpet performances and there are always so many deadlines.  This also includes the stress of making sure all the deadlines are met and the fees are paid.  We have to find the speeches they are going to do and memorize them, which means alot of practice and alot of time needed.  We have to find music pieces for them to preform and find the time to practice.  With me working at night it makes it very difficult and stressful for us to get it all done.


There is always the stress of making sure you are raising them up according to God's word.  Always making sure we are in church when we are suppose to be , that we are praying like we should be and standing up for what we believe in.  It is always very stressful wondering if once your kids leave the house and go out into the world if they are doing as you have taught them and as God would have them do.  The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 , Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. It is very stressful thinking about their future and if you raised them to grow up and be successful, happy and just good Godly men!! 
Then you have to celebrate their Birthdays, so there are birthday parties to plan.  With this includes, invitations, birthday cakes , decorations, games, junk food and just a whole lot of preparation and STRESS. 
Oh and then of course there is Christmas!!  What a stressful time of year.  We go out and buy things that our kids have asked for and spend money we don't have. We worry about whether or not they will like it ,  should we spend the money.  If we don't buy it for them will they be upset? Will it make their Christmas horrible?  Of course meanwhile during this stressful time of year, the Dads are on the couch doing what they do best and not worry one little bit that Christmas will soon be here and not one gift has been bought.  Now let me say this, not all Dad's are like that so forgive me if some of you Dad's actually help out. 
All of you Mom's out there know how stressful it is to have kids and a job and get everything done and still have time to enjoy them and life.  Your life gets put to the side and if you are married so does your marriage, which marriage itself is stressful but that's a whole other story.

Now to answer the question , Is there such a thing as "good stress?" I say yes!!  All of the things above that I just spoke about is everything that I live for everyday.  Yes it is stressful, but it is a good kind of stress because all of those things in my life bring me so much joy and happiness!  All of those things are what being a Mom is all about and I would not give up any of it.  The stress is good, because the end result is always so amazing. When you hear your kids say , "thanks Mom and Dad for working so hard so we can go to a private school", the stress is so worth it.  They will say,"thanks Mom for coming to my games or helping me with my school projects" , then the stress is so worth it.  My boys will thank me for taking the time to plan their Birthday parties and make Christmas so special and perfect, and that makes the stress so worth it.  Most importantly they will thank us for raising them in a Godly home and teaching them the right things to do to succeed in life.  All of these, thank you's make all of the stress really worth it and really GOOD.  So yes there is such a thing as good stress and I am so glad I have it in my life!!  Happy Stressing my friends.