Overwhelmed By Life?!
Return to the Fundamentals
Tennis Phenomenon:
Some days, I feel frustrated on the court. I'm not playing like I used to or I overwhelmed by the number of things I ought to be doing during my stroke. E.g., Earlier footwork, less take back, relax shoulder, swing low to high, contact further out in front, exaggerate follow through more, etc. I think so hard about all the different elements of our stroke, I lose touch with the two, preparatory fundamentals of every stroke:
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Watch the ball
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Move your feet
When my find my tennis game getting away from me, I must return my focus to those two fundamentals. Then my natural stroke will naturally begin to work itself out.
Spiritual Application:
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the countless things we Christians ought to be doing. But we shouldn't stress; the reality is that God has fundamentally given us only two laws to live by: love God, and love our fellow man (Matt. 22:36-40). When we are striving to follow these two great commandments, the things that led to our depression and anxiety disipate. We feel supported in doing those things which previously overwhelmed us. (e.g., attending church meetings, regular personal prayer, daily personal study scriptures each day). And the behaviors non-central to the Great Commandments just don't seem to matter any more.
“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives” —President Ezra Taft Benson in Conference Report, Apr. 1988, 13; or Ensign, May 1988, 4.
