Honorable Mention #2

Author: Hannah

Living My Best Life

For as long as I can remember, I have been the kind of person who gets easily stressed by new, unknown concepts and circumstances. From running around my driveway screaming in terror because of seeing my shadow for the first time to panicking the night before a big presentation at school to experiencing occasional anxiety episodes, I have experienced many varieties of stress, anxiety, and fear. However, thanks to the guidance of family and friends who care about me, I have found effective ways to cope with my stress and anxiety. During my journey with stress and a naturally anxious personality, I have found that prayer, reading scripture, and clinging to people who keep me grounded have been effective ways to deal with stressful and anxious situations.

My struggle with anxiety began around the time that I was leaving elementary school and entering middle school. At this point in my life, I began to worry about complex existential topics such as what followed one’s death. I was raised in a Christian household and had a relationship with God which I was told secured my destination after I died, heaven, for all eternity, but until this point, I had never truly contemplated what that looked like. Concepts such as death and eternity are ones that humans know very little about, and our finite minds are incapable of understanding these infinite concepts. However, I am a very perfectionistic person who requires full knowledge of a situation to feel comfortable with it, so not knowing so many of the details surrounding the idea of death, I began to fear it very much. My fear grew to the point that I found myself lying in bed at night with my thoughts spiraling out of control and keeping me from being able to sleep.

I had never experienced anything like this before in my life, and I had no idea how to handle my anxiety. Thankfully, I had (and continue to have) a rich community of family and friends who cared about me enough to take the time to guide me through what I was experiencing. They encouraged me to read scripture in the Bible and cling to the Lord amid my anxiety. As I did this, I came across scripture such as Philippians 4: 6-7 which says, “Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In response to this verse and other similar ones, I began praying fervently to the Lord, telling Him about the anxiety I was experiencing and asking for His peace to cover my heart and mind. And sure enough, after I surrendered my anxieties over to Him, God provided me with a peace that only He can provide. In John 14: 27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful,” and my life is a testament to the truth of this verse. I sought peace through apps that claimed to reduce anxiety. I sought peace through “escaping” my circumstances by having fun with friends. I sought peace in so many things of the world, and they all left me unfulfilled and still anxious. But once I whole-heartedly pursued the Lord and trusted Him to walk with me through anxious times and deliver me from them, I finally experienced the true, lasting peace I was looking for.

Since then, I have still experienced stress and anxiety related to various areas of my life. I still get stressed out when I have a big deadline coming up, or when I feel like I’m falling behind in my assignments, but I no longer experience the crippling anxiety that I once did. And when I do experience stressful situations, I now know how to cope with them. When I am stressed, I now choose to take a minute to reread a scripture such as 1 Peter 5:7, which says to “cast all your anxiety on [God] because He cares for you” or to say a quick prayer asking the Lord to calm my nerves and give me peace.

In addition, I have people I know I can rely on to provide me with a realistic perspective of the situation that I am facing and remind me to turn to the Lord for peace. In situations where I become so flustered and caught up that I forget to take a minute to slow down long enough to be reminded of God’s provision and sovereignty within my circumstance, I can rely on these friends and family members to help me wind down and then turn me towards the Lord. Although these people are not the source of my lasting peace, the role they play in my life is truly priceless because my walk with God is not always perfect, so having them to keep me accountable and grounded in the truths found in the Bible is truly a blessing.

As my circumstances have changed, the things I worry about have as well, but one thing remains constant: the lasting peace I found by pursuing the Lord in His word and through prayer. The world we live in today is ever-changing, and it seems that something new to worry about comes around every day, but as Isaiah 40:8 states, “the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” I have seen the impact prayer and reading scripture can have on stress and anxiety of all kinds, and I am confident that no matter what the future holds, I can remain joyful, peaceful, and content knowing I am cared for by a sovereign, almighty God.