Last night was a rough night.
First, a change in assigned responsibilities on a new contract, and second; a tense conversation with one of the managers. It was a stressful day for my husband.
That evening he noticed dizziness. A ‘strange’ feeling. Then he went into our bedroom and laid on the floor.
I’m thinking, ‘the floor’? Then he asked me to take his blood pressure.
At that point, I’m paying attention. We took his blood pressure a couple times, and it was a bit high, but not horrible. He wanted to stay on the floor so I got a bunch of pillows and tried to make him comfortable. I tried to watch a movie in the other room but checked on him every fifteen minutes. My mind went nuts. I got online and read everything I could find about his symptoms and by the time I got done with that (not the best idea sometimes) I was planning a funeral and wondering how I could get along without him.
Fear had wrestled him (and by proxy, me) to the floor. How quickly we can
cave to fear. Stripped away to its most basic definition, stress, anxiety and worry are fear.
False Evidence Appearing Real.
I think, like cholesterol, there is good fear and bad fear.
Good fear, or a developed respect for what we shouldn’t do, can cause us not to walk into the direct path of an oncoming car, avoid diving over a cliff or run from a dangerous situation. A healthy fear is necessary to propel us to avoid things that are bad for us or take steps to protect our loved ones.
Unhealthy fear, on the other hand, can quickly run amok. Normal pressures of life – a child that has lost his way, a recent diagnosis of a health challenge, financial woes, etc. – may make our hearts race, our minds spiral downward into worst-case scenarios and soon, we’ve talked ourselves into a stroke or heart attack.
At least in our minds.
After a sleepless night, we decided my husband should go to the emergency
clinic and get checked out. A nail-biting and prayerful hour and a half later, I saw his number pop up on my cell. His voice was chirpy. My forehead knotted. How did you go from full-on anxiety to chirpy?
One word: reassurance.
A kind doctor had checked him out, spent time talking with him. No overt issues, no problems, symptoms were all within normal range. Follow-up appointment next week after a few minor adjustments in lifestyle.
Pretty tame stuff. I breathed a sigh of relief. Smiled. Thought about these scriptures:
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” ~Prov. 12:25 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind.” ~2 Timothy 1:7 “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom (or what) shall I fear?”~Psalm It is reassuring to know that when fear knocks at the door, we can answer with His promises.
