When Life Gives You Lemons...

Master, the tempest is raging!

When life starts to mount pressure on you, one thing is certain: stress. I don't do well under stress even though I have ways to reduce and control the symptoms. The fact BYU does not have spring break contributes to the overload. I personally believe that nothing I learn in my major is conceptually difficult, but the sheer volume of information becomes daunting when I'm already feeling tired. Fatigue eventually leads to annoyance, and annoyance generally manifests as a perpetual anger that seems to radiate from my being.

Because of that, I focus less on the other aspects of life. I feel some angst when I attempt to clear the everlasting pile of dishes, or the tub of rubbish I should have sent out last night. Granted, it would be unfair to claim my housemates do absolutely nothing.

One thing I haven't been paying as much attention is spirituality. The weekly wall of tasks has transformed me into a churchgoer versus a sojourner of discipleship. I have zero desire to dig deeper into the scriptures. Zero desire to spend more time than necessary with people in the ward. That includes activities. I always jokingly exclaim that I hate people, but can't be bothered is probably a more accurate depiction of my current situation.

When the tempest was raging, the Apostles reached out to Jesus for help (Matt. 8:24; Luke 8:24; Mark 4:38). The Lord, who spent most of His time ministering to the people, was sleeping. I imagine He could have been tired, like any of us after a long day. (Although, He was probably fearless too!) Without any hesitation, He calmed the winds and put the disciples at ease. Even in a scenario where it was inconvenient, it didn't stop the Savior from performing His duties and demonstrate His compassion for common men.

What is the lesson here? Just do it? Not exactly. I do believe I'm supposed to maintain a standard when situation doesn't allow me to improve where I already stand. Or, maybe even try a little harder than I am at the moment. There are some time consuming tasks I could do without, but I am simply too selfish to give up right now.

We shall see how things evolve. I, for one, am glad the semester will conclude in less than four weeks.