A little stress relief

Dear Parents,
I have a confession to make to you all.  It seems like every year I end up hating the month of February a little more than I did the year before.  Why?  I'm not completely sure, but I think it has to do with a combination of things.  Number one on this list is the weather...let's face it, it absolutely stinks.  Gray skies and snow don't help a girl's mood when she comes from a state that gets at least a little sun almost every day.  Reason number 2 that February stinks is that it's smack dab in the middle of Christmas and Spring Break.  You just get plain tired and there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done.  I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this but hear me out.  The reason I'm making this confession that February stresses me out beyond belief is because I have a hunch that some of you may feel the same way.  If I'm wrong then I'm honestly happy for you.  If I'm right, then keep reading.

I don't have a magic cure for this bummer of a month mood.  Sure some sun and warm weather would help a lot.  Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be in the forecast here in St. Louis.  What I do have is a God that promises to give me the exact amount of peace and strength that I need to get through whatever it is that I can't get a handle on.  Included in this peace and strength package is a guarantee to provide for me, love me, and walk beside me every day.  And since he's already there walking beside me, he even says he'll carry my burdens for me.  You know all those seemingly little things like laundry, groceries, grading papers, fighting kids, car problems, sleeping through your alarm, daydreaming about spring, broken cell phones, and stinky colds.  Seems like a pretty good deal when you think about it.  Now I just need to give myself the permission to trust that he will follow through on his promises, which sometimes seems harder than stressing out about them.  This is what I have found that actual works:
 
Whenever I find myself rushing to beat the clock and pack more than humanly possible into an 8 hour day I say a prayer asking God to make me stop.  I never know how he's going to answer this prayer.  Sometimes I like his answer, and sometimes he really teaches me patience in his answer.  The point though is that he is always faithful in his promises, every single one of them.  He's always there with me and if that's true, then I really have nothing else to stress about.