Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
The second worst panic attack I had in my life was in 2001. I was a single mother, living with my mom. My mother was in hospice care at home. My daughter’s second birthday was days away. I was in college full time and working part time. I walked into Toys R Us to get a present for my daughter and some basic party supplies when it hit. I froze. I don’t remember much except three things: I couldn’t breathe, the ceiling seemed stories high, and the shelves seemed so narrow I didn’t think I could fit between them.
Then she appeared – a woman who worked there. With one glance, she seemed to know immediately what was going on. She asked me what I needed and helped me find every single thing on my list. She helped me check out, walked me to my car, gave me a big hug, and headed back inside.
I will always be grateful to her for what she did for me that day.
I’m prone to anxiety attacks. I’ve only had one that was worse than what I described above (maybe I’ll go into that one day, but not today.) And I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been having them more often than I’d like.
Which is what brings us to the verse above.
Do not be anxious about anything…
That seems impossible, doesn’t it? I could rattle off the stressors in my life that are causing me to have panic attacks. But WHAT is causing them is unimportant. How to let that stress go IS important.
That simple act of closing my eyes, breathing deep, and saying to God “I NEED YOU. Please hold me close. Please help me push through this. Please help me focus on the good in my life. Help me put this all in perspective.” is what has helped me every single time I start freaking out.
I ask God to help me understand what has me so upset. I ask God to help clear my thoughts, my heart, and my mind.
And then I really start to pray in earnest. I pray for my children. I pray for my fella. I pray for my family. My friends. The people I don’t like. The people I work with. The people around me. Most importantly, I thank God for every blessing in my life.
…in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
To be completely honest, I’m don’t consider myself very good at praying. I’m pretty raw about it, I just start rambling at God and figure He is listening and making sense of my rambling.
Video thrown in for reference on how I think I look when I pray:
I don’t think God is Robert DeNiro. I think God is delighted to hear whatever I’m saying as long as I’m talking to Him, thanking Him, and praising Him.
Even if I’m just singing “Day by Day“, He’s happy to hear my voice.
Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings in my life. Thank you for helping me remember that when life seems out of control, I can turn to you to reset and refocus. Amen.