Jun 23, 2016
by Sarina Villalpando
Maranatha Community Church, Colton, CA
There are two things in life that do not mix very well: change and anxiety. I first started noticing my anxiety around age 15. Since then it has been something that I have had to learn to function with. A big part of life is experiencing different changes, but for some they are harder to handle than others. Over time I have learned, in order to handle change, you need to find a constant. My constant has become God.
This year has consisted/will be consisting of some very big changes for me. The first change was my eighteenth birthday. Some people may say, “It’s just a birthday — what’s the big deal?” But it was, honestly, the biggest change in my life. I no am longer considered a kid — I am now an adult. People expect the best of me and to be a role model to those who are younger than I am. Way to make me feel anxious! To follow the sudden step into adulthood, I graduated two days later. Trust me, I felt the panic and anxiety all in one. Graduation and becoming an adult in the same week was definitely a life-changing moment and a trigger for anxiety. Now to add to those, I have the thought of being on my own and growing as a person. This summer I will be going on my first mission trip. This will be the first time I’ll be away from home for over a month or will fly in an airplane. I will also be overloaded with meeting new people and introducing myself, which I have never found easy. Finally the biggest change is moving out. This September I will be moving out of my house to go to college. It’s been something I’ve always thought of and looked forward to — but the fact that it’s so close has given me the biggest panic attacks ever. I will admit that at the beginning of these changes I didn’t know how to handle it; my life was anxiety attacks 24/7. Some of you may be asking how I’m surviving — the answer is God.
There are moments when we forget that God is on our side. Through stress, anxiety, and the bad times, we just think this is such a terrible moment — why is this happening to me? We don’t think about how God has a plan laid out for us. When life is changing it’s good to find something constant in your life to focus on. It helps make everything else not seem so bad. When everything started overflowing, I didn’t think about going to God right away because I was only focused on controlling my anxiety. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) says “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” This verse reminds us of the plan set forth for us.
I find myself reading it every morning to remind myself that God is my constant and He has a plan for me even when I don’t like it. In the end, it is important to remember that we are never alone. Sometimes in life, through all the changes, we forget that we have Someone by our side. We feel alone or anxious. But always remember that there is a plan for everyone and because of that plan we will make it through what seems to be impossible.
