"Oh, you must be terribly busy!"

Sometimes people make me feel more stressed than I am. Have you ever heard the following?

"Oh, you must be terribly busy!"

"I know everything is crazy right now..."

"You're probably stressed/overwhelmed/tired."

Don't get me wrong, transition is difficult for anyone. It seems that anything in life could cause stress... moving, packing, going to school, going to work, having babies, having children or grandchildren of any age, pretty much anything one does in life. Does everything have to be "overwhelming" or "too difficult"?

My sister Mary &
my baby E at 3.5wks

My sister is moving to a new home. She is a hard-working pastor's wife, has four children, and has lived in 6 states in the 10 years they've been married. This time it's winter in Iowa, but she's not pregnant like most other times. Rather than saying, "How on earth do you do it?!" I want to say, "How exciting to have a new home! What are you working on? What are you looking forward to? How can I help/pray for you?" Because, I know, in the midst of the long to do list, she's thrilled to be moving!

As I was packing for our 3-month trip to Ghana  (and for our 3-year term in Sierra Leone), I questioned and doubted myself much more when I heard something negative. Sure, it's good to be honest with difficult tasks. But if you're like me, your attitude about those tasks is greatly affected by what people say. I loved hearing something like...

"You must be so excited to go on this adventure."

"Be sure to have fun while you're at it!"

"What an exciting change."

Up next... packing to do list to reduce stress. Learning to wife!

Taking a taxi to the airport in Accra to fly to Northern Ghana.
(Taken by Joshua Wagner)