Vanilla Ice Moments

I struggle with anxiety.  Not the hand-wringing, fidgeting kind.  The mind whirling constantly, while looking completely calm on the outside kind.  And it’s not usually even whirling with crucial information, just the everyday needs of a family that have a tendency to overwhelm moms.

The other day I was experiencing anxiety, and simultaneously a song popped into my head.  Embarrassingly enough, it was Ice Ice Baby, and I had what I’m now calling a “Vanilla Ice Moment.” 

This was no coincidence, for me this was a God moment.

If you are a person who struggles with anxiety–or even if you don’t–you need to know how to have a “Vanilla Ice Moment”, too.  

 In light of my anxious state, I needed to heed the lyrics and literally “STOP. COLLABORATE AND LISTEN.”  To my body and to my God.

This outfit is killin’ my brain
like a poisonous mushroom

When anxiety sets in, I would encourage you to stop whatever you are doing.  Just stop.  Do a physical body check, the unique way you were created isn’t like anyone else.  Your physical condition alone can be a great indicator of stress.  Spiritually speaking, stopping is complete yielding, and God can work with a yielded heart.  

Next, collaborate.  Think about your role in life and examine how your daily tasks line up with that role.  For personal example, my role is that of a stay at home mother with young (wild) kids.  If I am attempting to do things that don’t fit the role of a “mom with young (wild) kids,” I’m sure to regress into an anxious state.

To collaborate also means to get on the same page as God.  Maybe you are in the same book, but are you in the same chapter?  When you are speed-reading or flipping ahead into chapters you aren’t ready for, you’ll be anxious.  Trust me.

And finally, listen.  Pray and ask God to lead you beside still waters, where you can meditate on His plan and His order of things.  Ask Him to guide your steps, so you can place what matters most back at the top of the list.

Anxiety isn’t of God, but don’t be ashamed that it sometimes resides in you.  It is an emotion that should drive us to God.

I’ve come to understand I may battle anxiety my entire earthly life, but I also rest in the fact that God has power over my emotions.  Reading His word, the Bible, proves He has the best things for my to-do list, whether that be for the day or for coming years.  And as Vanilla Ice says, “Anything less than the best–”  Well, you know the rest.

Psalm 85:8

I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people,

his faithful servants– but let them not turn to folly.