Letting Go of Worry
Happy August!
My apologies for sending a puzzling post with no content. Not sure why that happened? Gremlins? A garden gnome?
How is your summer going? I hope you’ve had time to relax, be with family and friends, enjoying the fruits and yummy vegetables from the garden…perhaps your tomatoes have come in and you’re sharing with your neighbors. The taste of a garden fresh tomato with a bit of mayo, salt, and pepper can’t beat it!
I just returned from the NBSI (Network of Biblical Storytellers) 40th anniversary conference. Wow! It exceeded all my hopes and was filled with the Holy Spirit! So much work went into it from all of us on the board and many volunteers.
But why did I worry? Oh! Don’t I know this is in God’s hands? There is one thing about planning and another about worry. God doesn’t expect us to act like Samantha in Bewitched, where she wriggles her nose and all is done…no, we have to put in the work.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters- It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24
BUT TRUST in the Lord always.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”. Proverbs 3:5-6
So why do we worry? I have discovered a new remedy in Travis West’s book, The Sabbath Way. I mentioned his stimulating message of rest and joy last month and am still incorporating lessons from it.
At the beginning of last week’s conference, something didn’t go right, which happened right before bedtime, and I was mulling it over, wondering how I was going to sleep, when I remembered a simple ask from Travis’ book. He had suggested creating a daily gratitude list, and I had started one, but with the days so full, I hadn’t gotten to write in it for the last two days. So instead, I prayed about it. Wow, there was A LOT to be thankful for. It took me quite a while to share that list, and when done, the issue seemed minute in comparison, and I slept soundly.
The other suggestion he offered was to tell someone every day why you are thankful for them. I’ve started doing this with people I have just met. I was in the new Moynihan Train Station taking the train to the conference. Roger, my husband, and I enjoyed a delicious lunch, and I returned to the counter where I could see the chef who made my tacos and said it was the best one I’ve had. He looked at me with surprise, and then a huge smile spread across his face. With all that is going on in this world, even one recognition can make you feel good, and the other person too.
My gratitude list now also includes how God answered, even if I still worry. He reaches out in surprisingly wonderful ways. I hope someday I will take this to heart and “Don’t worry….be happy” remembering we are in God’s hands.
Here are some fun songs to turn to and turn your worries into song and dance! Happy Summer!
Israel ‘IZ’ Kamakawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TLANYvPGPE
Bob Marley’s “Don’t worry about a thing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYi5aW1GdUU
And Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t worry be happy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68vZX2uUKKA
