The Roller Coaster

A year or so ago, I told one of my friends, "I feel like my life is a roller coaster, and I'm hanging on to a bar on the back, with my feet flailing out behind me, being whipped and jerked around, just trying to hold on for dear life."

I remember the feeling well. Oh, do I remember. Mostly because that feeling's never quite gone completely away. And recently it's started coming back again.

Uganda (in 34 days!!).

Fundraising.

Shots.

And more shots.

End of the school year craziness.

Buddy-field day, sponsored by PTA.

5th grade graduation (ugh).

Preparing for middle school (double-ugh. Band instrument selection last night. Tour of the school in a few weeks.)

Trying to find summer childcare (my sitter from last year has declined for this year....what does that mean?)

Easter (does it mean I'm a terrible person if I'm glad it's over?)

Garage sale #2 this weekend.

Scrounging for tables and clothes hangers for the garage sale.

Car (truck) trouble.


And....you know....the rest of life.

I know. This is life. It's everybody's life. I just don't seem to deal with it as well as most people. Yesterday morning after devotions, I told Jacob, "You need to hop up and go get ready for school." He just sat there playing with his chocolate milk cup. I said, "Do you know it gives me stress when you don't obey the first time?" He said, "You always have stress. You need to stop being stressed. It'll give you a heart attack."

sigh.

He's right. I'm not sure how to do that, though. Is it possible to just stop being your personality type? {I love studying personality types. There are a jillion different systems out there - the colors, the animals, the DiSC, Myers-Briggs, even Bible characters - I'm Moses. :) But the one that makes the most sense in my brain is the one that was developed in the first century by Galen. In his model, I'm a melancholy. Melancholies tend to be perfectionistic and pessimistic. Overly analytical (CPA, anyone?). Good formula for stress, huh?} Researchers tend to agree that your basic personality type is primarily biological. Nature, not nuture. So how do you go about changing who your DNA has made you to be?

A good start for me was when I read this post from Amy at Building the Blocks. I find myself asking God the same question Amy asked: "Why did You think I could handle this?" And then I read all the way to the end.

Um, kinda puts my roller coaster life in perspective.