It was a deep royal purple. As I stared at this little stress dot—clinically
called a “Bio-dot”—I marveled. This tiny invention actually changes colors with
fluctuations of tension levels. It is black when you are stress, and then it
changes to gradations of brown, mustard, green, and blue, until the dot reaches
purple, the most “relaxed” color.
I had been given such a dot one other time, years ago, and I vividly recall how
horrified I was to learn that I functioned at “black”—stressed—all the time! The
dot was black when I drove, when I lectured, when I ate, when I exercised, when
I flitted around the house trying to get everything done that needed to be done.
It only changed to green when I was asleep.
But yesterday, when I had received the little dot on my hand, it had immediately
turned green. I was surprised, but I figured it would change as soon as I
started lecturing. Imagine my astonishment at the end of the workday when my dot
was still green! Then I got in the car and drove home. Green. It stayed green
when I was assaulted at the door by the dog, my husband, and the two wild men
who live there—my sons. It even stayed that deep emerald color while they all
told me about all their problems of the day, while I made lunches for the next
day, while I put the boys to bed, did my email, and even while I exercised. But
the next day, as I was having my morning quiet time with the Lord, the color
changed—into a deep purple, the most relaxed of the colors.
But my quiet time was cut short this morning by the fact that I had to send a
difficult email. As I pressed the “send” button, I checked the dot, fully
expecting it to no longer be purple. Sure enough, it had changed, but to my
surprise, it wasn’t “black” as I had anticipated; it was green! And when my
oldest son came downstairs for his morning prayer, the dot returned to its deep
purple color!
Curious!
Why did I function at black all those years ago, when I now function at green?
The stressors haven’t decreased. On the contrary, these are some of the most
stressful times of my life.
There is only one difference that I can pinpoint—only one thing that has
happened in my life between when I used that first stress dot and now. I came to
know God as a personal friend and Savior. And over the past six years, God has
been helping me to rely more and more on Him, to cast all of my worries upon Him
and to let HIM handle my problems. Is this what made the difference? Is this
what has caused my core body tension to reduce significantly, despite the
presence of excessive outside stressors that I can’t remove? Is this the reason
why the dot is a rich purple, the most relaxed of the colors, during Bible study
and prayer?
You figure it out!
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Matt. 11:28-30)
Lyn Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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