How Has Spirituality Helped You with Stress & Healing?

@gailb, I do believe in the presence of a higher power in my life, and pray every evening after I get into bed. THank you for your uplifting words. I appreciate them, particularly since my husband is an atheist. While a very compassionate, wonderful and generous man, his lack of faith is hard for me to deal with at times, especially in times of crisis.

AGain, thank you for your words of strength,

Julie

As I've grown older I've gotten closer to God and his Saints, especially St. Jude and St. Anthony. They are a source of comfort to me. I, too, pray every evening before bed and include all of those who are suffering in this world, whether physically or mentally. I hope you find solace. There still may be hope for your husband; remember the saying "there are no atheists in foxholes"!

Thank you for your reply, Shoregal. Yes, St. Jude is someone I revere and pray to each night. RIght now I am struggling with nervousness about going back to FL. I am not a great flyer, and I miss my family very much when I leave. I have three little grandsons whom I adore, and am very close to my only daughter and son-in-law. Yes, I do pray for my husband's conversion. He had a very unfortunate experience with a minister as he was going through a terrrible time of anxiety and depression after his first wife left him for another man. I think this soured him on religion.

@user_che9abc00 @gailb I could not find the post by Gail, but this post has so many similarities to my situation. I also pray in bed every evening and also at other times during the day. My husband is not a believer. I think he is probably not an atheist but I tell him he is a heathen. It was very difficult to instill much of Christianity in our children without his support. Neither practices any religion now.
JK

First of all, I am so glad you are both content and well. Such good news. I am working my way out of a general anxiety/panic disorder slowly but surely. Have been through it before. It takes time, courage and patience, but I have been blessed in many other ways. A type A personality, my husband did very well in business, and we are fortunate to have two beautiful homes, one in PA and the other in FL. We leave for FL tomorrow. Lots of nerves. It's a schizophrenic life and our children and grandchildren are all here in PA and NJ, but he is a huge golfer and wouldn't know what to do with himself during those cold winter days in PA. Wish me luck! And I pray I follow in your footsteps soon. Warm regards, JC

Amen Ryman. It is the sacrificial, boundless, unmerited, vast, deep, free, unconditional love of Jesus Christ that can only and soley, completely and permanently fulfill the need of the human soul in my experience. That we can know Him intimately and trust Him implicitly in our circumstances and Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" is the only thing that gets me through the many fires we walk through here in this temporarily life. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:28 In Christ's unfathomable love, Sunnyflower

How does spirituality help stress?

Spirituality helps stress by relieving my anxiety about my physical ailments and the stresses of everyday living through the diagnosis process.

I learned from an early age to rely and count on Jesus. My faith in my heavenly King grew as I did and before I knew it, His love spoke to me. I heard His call to live my life for Him with a goal to one day be unified with the Trinity through daily mindful conversations and prayer.

While I strive to be a good person, life can get in the way but I also know He is always there for me and has been from the day I believed, at that healing mass when father blessed and spoke to me. I realized my tension was not my own. All of me is His. Heart and soul.

In times of worry and times things are going right the consistency I’ve had over time has been the Lord and has, as I had come to know Him and meditate on His life and love been a guiding light, a beacon of hope. He is every reason to be at peace.

Seeing myself very small to honor him and to praise him gives me peace. To see the bigger picture and know life is to live to one day be united. Nothing else compares. No gift is greater then the gift of faith.

My reality is with Him, the spiritual connection is the glue that holds me together. Without it, I would be lost. There are times I feel alone, but know that is not the case. I know He has been alone at critical times, feared, known anxiety and more but He had a mission. Like a faithful follower I am a survivor of things that have broken me but with His love, rebuilt me piece by piece.

Stress can and does get the better of me at times but I know He is in my corner helping me step by step. I am not alone in this life. I have love in my life and feel wealthier in ways unimaginable, With that love and strength, it curbs and defeats in the end the stress that can consume.

Spirituality has carried me through every trial and hardship. My faith is my foundation. I am blessed and bless others through him where all things worthy if it is His will are possible.

God bless us all.

@nannybb As long as you know the Lord, you are never alone - and never “only have me.” You have the full army of heaven behind you and the power and provision of God! However I do believe that faith calls us to act “as if” He is our healer, will help us pay those bills, take away fear, grant us a peaceful heart when we ask according to His word. I learned (am still learning) that when I let go of what I have been clinging to so tightly, I need to trust that He will catch me when I fall. We cannot in our own strength “hang on” forever” - ask God to show you what to do and He will let you know - perhaps all at once, perhaps step by step. For we only need to see through the light of His presence, what the next step illuminated to place our foot on will be - God knows the path - trust takes us forward; fear (or the need to be “in control?”) may hold us back. If you are not attending some type of bible based corporate (ie., with other believers) place of worship, I know this would be very helpful in combatting fear and loneliness and building faith, joy, and relationship. If you have any of those books of bible verses to help with fear, anxiety, depression, healing, provision, , etc. pull them out (or look some up on line) and find some that are helpful to you - to speak as affirmations - or when you need them. These really help me - for His word is sharper than a two- edged sword…I prayed for God’s favor over you. May you find peace and rest in His arms - and may your faith increase as He continues to meet your needs on a daily basis. May God bless you richly!

@chosenpuppy1 Thank you so much. Your messages help more than I can express. You have a wonderful way of relating you faith. My worry and anxiety hit me and I DO go to God's word. I have been using the Dwell app. It has been helping with breath prayer. It calms me every time. I also especially love to listen to their nightly sleep devotional and listen to complete books of the Bible. Regarding church, few know I am almost totally deaf. I was born with congenial nerve deafness and it has progressed because I also came down with Meniere's. Each episode of that takes away more of my hearing. My father was almost deaf, and his father was deaf. So lots of factors. I say all of that, to say, the last church I was a member of was in Jax, Fl. First Baptist. I miss it so much. Hearing aids were working for the most part at that time. Through Covid it's gotten worse. I moved back to Portland to be with family. It has been extremely difficult to find a conservative church of any kind here. I know we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves with other believers. I did contact a branch of the church I grew up in. They have reached out to me. When I am not in such pain I'm going to try and attend there using an app on my phone to communicate. I have many people praying for me. I did get my PET scan back. It revealed I do not have 3 more tumors! I am waiting for my oncologist to confirm that. I see him this next week. So I DO believe in prayer and that God has all things in His control for His glory and our good. Please keep up the wonderful encouraging texts. You are a God sent. I go back and read them over and over. Thank you for your prayers as well.

@nannybb and @chosenpuppy1, spirituality can be important - essential - for many members in the healing as in life. I moved your recent posts out of the discussion about treatment and Medicare to this more relevant discussion:
- How Spirituality Can Help Stress & Healing https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-spirituality-can-help-stress/

I did this so that you can continue to connect about your health and faith, and keep both discussions on topic as per the Community Guidelines (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/).

Here you will find like-minded members and be able to continue your encouraging messages and stay connected. 🙂