My website was down for 12 hours. I was panicking. The stress cycle had started. The hosting company said it was because the platform I use is open source and subject to more hacking. He shared another option. The annual cost was less and it was simpler to use. I was in.
Then he explained that I would need to move over my content or spend $2000 to have them do it. So it began. Copy/paste each of 462 blogs. Download the image. Upload the image. Set the original post date. Everything had to be the same. 30+ hours of work completed, I was ready to make the official switch.
I reached out to the company with a few questions. Where was the search bar? Will it post to my social media? When both of those questions came back negative, I knew I needed to pull the plug on the new platform. I wasn’t willing to lose that much functionality.
I was furious. The stress cycle was in full swing. Tears were streaming down my face as the tech support person shared that I was poorly advised, and that the simpler platform was really for beginners. UGH!
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV).
The thing about stress is we need to learn to complete the cycle or it stays in our bodies. Recently, I read Burnout. It has been just what I needed. I have long known about the bodies physical response to stress, but this book gave me practical ways to allow stress to move through my body and return back to a state of rest. There are a lot of ways to accomplish this. For me, exercise, breathing, prayer, crying and journaling are ways I achieve rest.
If I don’t complete the stress cycle, I spend hours to days running the events over and over in my mind. My body stays in a state of stress and anxiety rises. This time I chose to lean into this scripture and that God can take even this experience and use it for good. I’m still not sure what that is, but I did wake up the morning relaxed knowing God’s purpose and plan for this blog is still intact.
How do you complete the stress cycle? Do you allow stress to move through your body, or do you let it ruminate? Share your experience here and breathe life and bring hope to ohters.