I admit I am a worrier. Always have been. My Mother, God rest her soul, used to occasionally refer to me as a 'worry wart.' Of course, she was too. It takes one to know one, I suppose.
I am fully aware of the statements of Jesus that urge his disciples not to worry--'take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, what you shall put on,', etc, etc....meaning, of course, that if God cares for the birds of the air and flowers of the field, He will surely care for us too.
And I know these things are true. I believe God cares about each of His children. And worry is counter-productive.
I once did an inventory of my life, being the introspective person that I am, which showed that over 90% of the things I worry about never happen. That means that I am spending all of that time, energy, and mental resources on things that never come to pass--a precious waste of my abilities and gifts. I decided at that time that I would make it a goal to worry much less.
But that is easier said than done. I find that the old patterns creep back in when we least expect them. And the circumstances of life complicate the issue, particularly when one has health problems. We are naturally concerned when that is the case. But when does healthy concern become unhealthy worry?
It is a fine line that distinguishes them.
Part of the answer may well be our response to real issues that beset us. If there is a health problem, we do all within our power to address it medically, emotionally, physically. And then, having done all we can possibly do, we let go.
Once we know we are doing all that is possible to address the issue, it is easier to let it go and let God and His healing resources of modern medicine do their jobs.
But it is a daily battle. This is not a war that is won in one day--as if we can conquer it one day and be done with it forever. Rather, this is an ongoing battle that must be addressed daily.
The worries that I conquer yesterday can surely vex me again today, unless I am ever alert and vigilant.
Some days I do very well. Some days I do not. It is a mixed bag because we are human. But being aware of the problem is at least 50% of the battle to conquer it.
And with that I leave with the words of Jesus, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me."
It's hard not to worry about our country for two reasons. One we are in a terrible situation with what we call our leadership who are not leading. And the second reason is, we have made such a mess of things for so long simply because we as a People have been so apathetic and are failing miserably in our faith life, that this country is destroying its connection with God. Retribution will come if we don't turn this around.
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