A few years after my mother’s death in 2010, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It wasn’t a single thing that had contributed to Type 2 diabetes, but a complex set of realities, including sleep apnea, stress and increased levels of cortisol. I’ve spent the ensuing years changing the foods I eat, increasing exercise and lowering stress. That latter issue, the one of stress, is the most challenging.
There are so many things in our lives that cause stress—many of which we cannot control. Now I live by the mantra, “I cannot change another person; I can only change how I respond to another person.” I’ve managed to reduce the effects of stress in my life, even if I haven’t reduced the amount of stress itself. I’m more mindful and I pray without ceasing. In those ways, God continues to walk this journey with me.
This message is an excerpt from “Time to reflect” by Linda Post Bushkofsky in the November 2019 issue of Gather magazine.Today we remember Benedict the African, confessor, who died in 1589.
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