Why do we waste any time worrying? Winston Churchill said he heard a story about a man who on his deathbed said he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened. Isn’t that the truth? Why do we lose sleep fretting about things we can’t change?!? Here’s a sample: We can’t change someone’s mind, we can’t make money appear in our bank accounts, and we can’t make someone do the right thing. Yet we still spend time worrying about it! Jesus said in Matthew 6:27, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” He went on to say, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Today can have its fair share of problems, so we need to address them as we are able. But let’s not waste our precious time, energy, and emotions thinking about the challenges that could happen tomorrow.
Thankfully, we can do two things instead of worrying. First, we can pray. From Jeremiah 29:12, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” And from Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And second: we can have a big bowl of ice cream. Here’s a few suggestions: Cookie Dough, Butter Pecan, or Heath English Toffee. Was it a really stressful day? Then go a little crazy and throw a cherry on top. I wish I had time to recommend more flavors, but alas, there’s something in the freezer calling my name.
When Lake Erie gets waves big enough to surf, look for me in the biggest one. Surfing is fast, exciting, and intense. It takes a lot of practice to become a skilled surfer. You must learn the proper technique of standing, positioning yourself on the board, and finding the right wave. There’s even a correct way to fall! The experts describe in detail how to fall, and give specific instructions about getting back up again. It’s not surprising that in surfing it is predicted that you will fall a few times, and probably many times. But mainly, I like that it’s expected you will get back up.
Last year I went through what I’ll call my personal health crisis. I had a back injury that kept me ‘surviving but not thriving.’ It’s hard to think about the times when I couldn’t drive, when sitting in a chair wasn’t an option, or when the pain was at its worst and I just cried. But here’s the thing, even in the middle of this dark time, there was light. I saw it in the faces of people who wanted to help. My mom came and cleaned my house and took me to get groceries every week. Numerous friends called, emailed, and sent cards. Some friends and family stopped by for a visit and brought dinner. A variety of people were kind enough to mow my lawn and one couple just took the job over completely. And for them it wasn’t just mowing: Tom cleaned out my gutters (that doesn’t even get done when I’m healthy!), and Marilyn did numerous things around the house to make my life easier. I will be forever grateful for having such loving and caring people in my life.
Let’s face it, we all make rash decisions at times. My most recent one was taking a 2, a 7, and an 11 year-old to the movies. It’s amazing the things you can accomplish while the previews are on: the 2 year-old and I did step aerobics (repeatedly), explored the lighting systems on the floor, marveled at the big screen, pondered the recliner seats, and greeted other movie-goers as they entered. My body became a human jungle gym during the movie as the 2 year-old sat, crawled, climbed, and lay across me. He wasn’t afraid to comment (loudly) on the antics on the screen, occasionally asking, “What’s so funny?” The highlight of the movie was when my nephew decided to take the lid off his cherry slushy and tip the cup upside down to see why it wasn’t coming out faster. Red slushy in my lap was…interesting. As we left the theater my other nephew said it looked like I’d wet my pants. At that exact moment I discovered the slushy also found its way inside all the compartments of my purse. So as I stop to reflect on our adventure, I realize there are a few lessons to be shared.
This summer my niece and her family transformed an old rundown farmhouse into a comfortable, refreshing place to live. You should have seen how it looked when they started! It needed new paint in every room, the mice had to be asked to leave (evicted is a better way to put it), and water lines had to be repaired. Ceilings were raised, the stairway opened, and more windows were added. When the air conditioning went in I believe my niece did a dance for joy (and who doesn’t love a little air on those hot and humid summer days?). The transformation didn’t happen overnight and yet they now live in a beautiful home filled with kids’ laughter, family and friends, and the soft purr of an air conditioner.
Do you ever feel like you’re living life inside a pressure cooker? That’s where the heat gets turned up and you feel trapped inside with no sign of escape. We have the burden of schedules, deadlines, people’s expectations, our expectations, and on and on the list goes. Sometimes we feel like if one more thing gets placed on our ‘To do’ list we are going to explode. You know the old saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”? But what should we do if we can’t leave the kitchen? Sometimes we can’t walk away from what’s in front of us. What then?
I recently went on a long train ride in Arizona. We looked at rocky canyons, saguaro cactus, and valleys with slow moving streams. One curve while traversing a canyon took us through a dark, winding tunnel. It was a long one and we couldn’t help but wonder if we’d ever get to the other side. And then we saw a ray of light peeking through the darkness, and as we moved forward it got brighter and brighter, until the light burst through and overtook the darkness. In our lives, we sometimes come across those black tunnels, times when we wonder if we’ll ever be happy again, or free from worry, or from pain and sickness.
In Ohio, the weather can be unpredictable. (I think I just heard someone call me ‘Captain Obvious.’) A week ago we had one such evening that I’ll call ‘Interesting’. Although we had temperatures hovering in the 70’s a few days before, this night it began to snow. I wish I could says that’s all it did, but Ohio let loose with every type of weather in its arsenal. We experienced periods of snow, then hail, and a little freezing rain for good measure. After that the sun came out for a minute, and the next thing I knew it was raining. Thunder and lightning followed, sprinkled with a few more snowflakes. At times it was a white blanket out my window, and then I saw the sun charge through the clouds. This roller coaster of weather went on for some time, and was impossible not to watch, as one second hail piled up in my landscaping, and then was abruptly washed by rain. On and on the changes went, each overshadowing the former.