Post # 8 The Family Under Stress

The Family Under Stress

I cannot overstate that I am learning so much in my Family Relations class!! The topic of this week’s discussion is,  “The Family Under Stress.” A stressor is a strain on a family or relationship. Most of the time we think of stress as being negative. Some stresses are challenging they can be physical, mental, or spiritual, health, unemployment, divorce, school, finances, and family dynamics the list could go on.

Stress can also be a very positive thing. In class we talked about the astronauts that spend an extended amount of time on the space stations. The astronauts are living in without gravity and so they must find ways to exercise with resistance to keep their muscles and bones strong. I imagine this would be challenging. In our discussions we learned that when astronauts finally return to the earth from a space station, their bones are actually very porous and weak. They actually begin to suffer from osteoporosis. Additionally their muscles become very weak and they cannot even get themselves out of the shuttle when they return to the earth. They must be taken out and placed in wheel chairs by others who are there to assist them because they can do very little for themselves and cannot walk. How very interesting.

Why does this happen? As we learned in class it is because there are no stressors on the astronauts bodies while in space. Do you know that gravity here on earth is a stressor on our bodies? Because we have the stress of gravity on our bodies it strengthens our bones and muscles.

As we talked about the astronauts and their physical weakness upon returning to earth, I actually felt grateful to our loving Heavenly Father. That might seem strange but, I began to have just a small glimpse at how wise and loving He is. He knows that we need to have stress in order to be strong.

I began to think about some of the huge stressors that I have had in my life. I grew up under various types of abuses and neglect from my mother and step-mother. I have had my heart broken with two painful divorces. I have lived through the anguish of losing my son just after his birth and losing my father, who was my rock and dearest friend to cancer.

I am grateful for my “negative” stressors, they have helped me grow and find strength that I didn’t know I had. For example, I genuinely believe I am a better mother and more gentle with my children because I never wanted them to feel the pain I had as a child. I am more cautious with relationships and have had some great discussions with my children as they consider the dating world and future companions. I have learned that I can still find joy even when those I love most have left this world. I believe I have been tempered in many ways.

Sometimes I feel like I am still reeling from those stressors that could be considered very negative. However, I know that I would not be the person am I today, had it not been for these painful experiences. Do I think that Heavenly Father “planned” for me to have such unfair things happen to me in my life? No, not really. This life is about choices and experiences. I do believe that he knows his children well enough to know how they will behave in any circumstance. I am so very grateful for his love for me, I feel it every day. I am grateful for His trust and confidence in me that I will come out on the other side a little wiser than before.