Tag: worry

All occasions invite his mercies, and all times are his seasons. ~John Donne

The sun rises this morning, as it has every day without fail.

When the first slanted rays tease me awake, my heart is still beating, sending oxygen-laden cells to brain and brawn alike.

Gravity still works, the furniture isn’t floating; when I throw off warm covers and plant a foot on the floor, it stays.

The hot water is both hot and wet.  The coffee pot perks and the smoky aroma hasn’t changed.

I open the back door and step outside, the ground remains solid beneath my slippers. The azaleas are in showy bloom, Spring following Winter following Autumn…

…without fail.

I breath in cool air, the same cocktail of oxygen and nitrogen (with a few flavorings added) I breathed yesterday. Birds chatter their familiar morning agenda. One of the 920,000+ varieties of Creator-cared-for insects buzzes by.

Water is still clear as it sprinkles the grass. The dog, ever predictable, disdains the lawn’s paw-dampening threat.

Back inside, I find my coffee mug intact, it hasn’t unbaked back to clammy clay. With the first cautious sip, a surge of dependable dopamine courses through my brain.

The sofa squats comfortably where I left it. There, my book lays open, a still-sharpened pencil holds my place, words fill the pages in the same orderly lines as before.

I sit in silence, close my eyes and listen.

I am here, without fail. I haven’t changed, your life is held in my hands. Trust me with your worries. Trust me with each moment. My mercies are new every morning.

Save Worry For Another Day

What worries you? What drags your thoughts into dungeons of dread and concern? How deep are the ruts from pacing the floor of your mind, what if, how long, why not? Is it your:

• Growing prayer list
• Long deferred dreams
• Terrified glance into the future’s crystal ball?

We try to figure life out from the muddled middle, and soon begin to sink. We forget that this morning the sun rose, and will rise again tomorrow, and the next day…

…without fail.

Without fail, are you keeping your eyes on the Faithful One?

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What is new is that we are set free from the compulsions of our world and have set our hearts on the only necessary thing. -Henri J.M. Nouwen

Business and worries are enemies of the spiritual life, but what are we to do? Jesus is a realist. He doesn’t demand that we drop our commitments and stop caring about our needs; but to change our center of gravity.

There is a deep truth at work: If we put first things first, the rest will fall into place.

When you find your mind reeling with fear for yourself or another, concentrate not on the what-if’s but on the what-are’s and seek first:

• The one reign that matters
• The one reason you were made
• The one hope that cannot die
• The one love that will not fail
• The one joy outlasting the rest.

Make the kingdom of God your primary concern and the other things, that God already knows you need, will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Could it be that simple? Do we dare loosen ourselves from the paralyzing grip of dread?

Worry Bowl

I am not by nature a worrier. But sometimes problems stack up, circling restlessly overhead, and I freeze. I am too small and inept to ensure a safe landing for the people I love.

So, I have a worry bowl. Folded inside are slips of paper, the names and needs I turn over with relief to the One, whose timing and wisdom are perfectly suited for the task.

When I empty the bowl on occasion, I am amazed at what I find.

What do you do to keep worry in its place?