Going through old papers and letters can be both an enjoyable and bittersweet experience. Today I started tackling some boxes of high school notebooks and binders. (Yes I have kept every note and test I've ever taken!) Finally I was able to toss several of Mrs. Spencer's LOOOOONGG history study guides, Ike's chemistry lab reports, and even most of the French book exercises Miss Davis assigned. It was sad to say good-bye, but sweet to be reminded of all the good times I had in high school. I'm saving just a couple memories, an important test or paper from each class, so I can show my kids someday...and I suppose partly for myself to prove, yes, I have been there, done that, and I made it through!
While I was cleaning out I started refelcting on stress and how our society puts so much pressure on performance - for not only adults in the work world but also teenagers in their schools. I particularly remember being very stressed over history...way TMI! and Chinese...how in the world do you study an random grouping of lines that make up the characters? A lot depends on the person, and I suppose other classes I found easy, some students may have been intensely stressed over. I just wonder, do we need to be placed under stress or is it ok to avoid it? I see so many times stress has helped me achieve what I would have otherwise thought as impossible...other times it has deabilitated me. Where is the balance?
I have always been a person who can get caught up in performance and achievement, and I am now reminded of my college French professor's favorite verse:
Micah 6:8 (New International Version)
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
and I also like the Message translation:
8But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
I guess what it comes down to, isn't performance and achievement, but who I am with the little choices I make along the way. Should I welcome or avoid stress, well, I don't know, but I do know that the most important thing is to humbly walk with God through whatever comes my way.
