Stress makes you believe that
everything has to happen right now!

"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Europe Area.  Your primary assignment is to labor as an area mental health adviser.  It is anticipated that you will serve for  a period of 23 months."
These were the first words that I read when I opened the large envelope from Salt Lake City.  I then looked at the bottom of the letter and saw the signature:  Sincerely, Thomas S. Monson, President

I immediately went into stress mode - - believing that everything had to happen right away and that I needed to know every detail of - - EVERYTHING! Thus began three weeks of high anxiety because there is so much to know and so much to do and I don't know what I need to know and very little of what I need to do!  And the words "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...no time to say hello/good-bye - I'm late, I'm late, I'm late"  kept going round and round in my mind.  I talked to family.  I talked to friends.  I talked to my counselor.  I e-mailed an office in Salt Lake.  I said prayers but forgot to listen because I fretted, I worried, I made lists and threw them away.   At some point last weekend  the words going round and round changed and I began hearing these instead:  "If by a still, small voice He calls me to paths that I do not know I'll answer dear Lord with my hand in thine I'll go where you want me to go.... I'll say what you want me to say... I'll be what you want me to be..."  Whew!  A sigh of relief and a change of attitude.