Rolling stress away
An easy-to-read book of life-giving principles to find more peace in your missionary life
“Roll it over to God.” With a heavy sigh and a deep breath, I said it again, this time out loud, “Roll it over to God.” I was reminding myself of one aspect of the Stress Cycle in Lee Hotchkiss’s book Stress and Relational Peace: Marking the Trail for Walking in Peace. As I had so many times before in the midst of stressful situations, difficult people, and unmet expectations, I was putting into practice the biblical command of Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the Lord” (NIV). Reminding myself of the truth that God is in control and then giving him control is a life-giving step in the midst of stressful situations that I have no control over.
From my teenage years, I have been exposed to these principles as my dad (Lee Hotchkiss) taught them to countless missionaries all over the world, including those in Japan many times. They have helped us tackle missionary life in Japan for almost 30 years. My husband and I taught these tools to our kids, complete with silly hand motions of throwing a bowling ball, as we reminded ourselves to roll the difficult, stressful situation over to God.
Granted I am a little biased, but these useful principles have impacted my life so much that I can’t help but recommend this book (as well as his first book, Handling Stress Effectively which is more in-depth on the topic). Other aspects covered in this book include pinpointing whether the other person is speaking on the feeling or fact level, guarding ourselves from trying to climb the success “ladder” (even in our ministries), and seeking to understand how our emotions (and lack of handling them well) can affect our family and close relationships.
This newly published book is written with the international ministry worker in mind. With just 100 pages, it is a quick read but also helpful to refer back to. It is available on Amazon Japan (Kindle and paperback). I encourage you to pick up a copy and join me in rolling the stressful “bowling-ball” situations of missionary life over to God and rest peacefully in his sovereign care.