I love pumpkins. For years I have raised big and little pumpkins. I take the small ones and paint them and give them out to people. This spring it seemed liked the weather would not cooperate. It put a stress on the pumpkins and some did not come up and I had to replant. 

As I thought about the stress that my pumpkins were going through this growing season, I found myself thinking about people I know that are facing a lot of stress. A friend of mine is dying, another friend has had numerous physical problems, a niece is going through some bad times. I found out I had two kinds of cancer: lung cancer, despite never smoking, and lymphoma.

Stress can sap us of our energy. It can knock us over. It can take away our joy of living. 

In the book of Ezekiel, the people of Israel had been carried off into exile. Life was pretty tough. The stress of forcibly relocating had caused them to wonder, where is God? Why has this happened to us? Some were so beaten by the stress of it all that they just gave up. Some became angry and bitter. Some vowed never to trust God again.

Yet in this book of Ezekiel, the prophet comes to remind the people that God loves them. God cares about them. God even wants to pick them up, breathe life into them, and be a part of their lives again.

If you find yourself stressed out today, what are you willing to do about it? Has the pain and stress caused so much hurt that you no longer know where to turn? Has the stress of life caused you to realize that life is overwhelming? Has the stress of life knocked you over and taken away your joy?

If so, I want to invite you to pause for a moment and think about these questions: Are you trying to do too much on your own? Are you willing to find time for God in your life? Are you willing to find ways to reconnect with God through worship, through time set aside each day? Are you willing to turn to others to help you through the challenge of this moment?

I have two cancers but I never doubt that God still loves me and God answers prayer. Many churches and people are praying for me and that is why we need each other.

Most of my pumpkins made it through the stress of weather and I have started decorating some of the small ones. Sometimes when stress builds and knocks us over, we need to remember that even in moments of challenge and stress God has created us to help each other. 

God has created us to help pick each other up. May we learn to recognize God’s love and grace as they come to us in the form of family and friends who are willing to walk with us and pick us up when life gets too stressful. Remember the hope that Jesus offers us. 

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. David Busker is the retired pastor of Monroe United Methodist Church.