The Three F's for When Life Becomes Overwhelming

When things get overwhelming, I worry that I will commit one of the three F's or maybe even all three: Freeze, Freak Out, Fall Apart. Last night, I posted about how I want to try to deal with that type of situation. Mostly, I want to be able to deal with the zillion-and-one details on my plate each day. At 72, I'm always afraid that I will forget something important.

My memory, so far, isn't bad. And, yes, I do write notes. Hey, I write a lot of notes. I have notes on the little table in the living room where I crochet or do plastic canvas work. I have notes in the kitchen near the coffee maker with a pen on top of them to draw my attention to them. I have notes tucked under the corner of my keyboard at the computer in my bedroom. The problem is that I never manage to get them all in one place.

Anyhow, back to the three F's. My fear is that any of these will cause a major meltdown in many people's lives. I do a lot of volunteer things here in my senior mobile home community. I oversee a charity crafter's group. I am a loved one's alarm clock. I am my kitty's food and litter caregiver and general complaint department. I have this blog, plus my Etsy shop, among other things.

So, the three F's. If I freeze, all these things stop dead in their tracks. Who would notify folks of the reason I am not online, for example? If I freak out, I might not stop dead, but I might make major errors and not be able to undo them. And, if I fall apart, all of the previous issues hit all at once.

So, the trick seems to be, as I considered last night, to rely on "him who strengthens me." To be fair, there is no trick to it. It is common sense. It is faith in action. It is the wise thing to do.

Lord Jesus, I am mindful once more today that I need your strength more and more the older I get and the busier I get. I'll be happy to take care of all that the Father expects of me, but I will need a lot of help. I place my trust in you.