The other day I heard that stress is just another form of fear. Interesting. Because I feel like a person who faces their fears on a regular basis, I was taken aback by this comment. But just to entertain the idea, I listed all my stresses. When I looked at the list, my stressors all pretty much pointed to the fear of not being enough.

Later in the week, I heard that fear (in the form of stress, perfectionism, procrastination, etc.) is constantly getting in the way of our creative process. Do I use the stress of our family life as an excuse as to why there’s no time left for real work and creation?

As I was trying to get honest about my denial around stress, I had a daydream. I imaged two little girl versions of myself holding hands. One is named Denial the other is named Honesty. I image Denial looking at Honesty and saying, “Ok, your turn. God wants you to play with her now.” And as simple as that, the girls give each other a solid high-five and I’m ready to entertain Honesty rather than Denial. Which is to say—I think both have a place in my life, and I move from playing with one to the other in God’s time.

By definition, it’s hard to know when you’re in denial about something. It’s like that quote, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Do you spend time thinking about the stresses in your life and what they might be telling you?

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