Anxiety - It Can Kill You

While sipping coffee Sunday morning, a cancer update on the news program caught my ear - a 50% chance of reducing a recurrence of cancer in women if they learn how to more effectively deal with anxiety. Fifty percent! I have often thought there is a connection between how we handle stress and our physical well-being. I remember years ago, when going through a stressful period in my life, asking God for an inner sense of peace and joy. A scripture came to mind then that may prove helpful in the midst of today's economic turmoil, for it teaches an important lesson. Galations 5:22 says: But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I had been praying for peace and joy, when instead I should have been seeking the kind of spirit-filled experience that produces that kind of fruit. Being reminded that God remains in control, even in the midst of turmoil, is a reassuring thought.