Worry ~

Yesterday was an exceptional day of rewarding inspirational moments.  Wednesday's Bible study focused on "worry" and who doesn't worry, some definitely more than others.  Sometimes we worry so much that whatever we are worrying about almost becomes bigger than life.  I loved the illustration that was given in our study book concerning how worry grows and how we should keep a realistic perspective on our thoughts.  Visualize a fog, a fog so thick that you can barely see the hand in front of you.  Fogs are common in London and can stop everything dead in their tracks.  A fog bank a hundred feet deep and covering seven city blocks is composed of less than one glass of water.  Divided into billions of droplets, it hasn't much substance.  Yet it has the power to bring an entire city to a standstill.  Now think about your worries, are they as small as a mere glass of water or do we let them grow so large that they can bring an entire city to a standstill.  There is a wise saying that says, "worry is a down payment on a debt you may never have to pay."

• Worry is often unfounded
• Is generalized (can spread to many things)
• You become obsessed with the problem
• It can create more problems (ie health, stress)
• We look to ourselves or others for answers instead of looking to God for our concerns.

These are the things we worry about:

• 40% are things that will never happen
• 30% are about the past - which can't be changed
• 12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue
• 10% are about health, which gets worse with stress
• 8% are about real problems than CAN be solved

Three concise and practical steps to claim victory over worry

1. Be anxious about nothing.
2. Be prayerful about everything.
3. Be thankful for all things.

If we can adapt these practical steps we can at least reduce the size of our worries into a 1/2 of a glass of water which would reduce the size of the fog to three and a half city blocks.

As we discussed worry I found that most of the younger women are far more worrisome than us "more mature" generation.  I think it is because we have lived through our children growing up and out of the house, we have experienced so much more in life as 60 + year old women vs. mid 30's women, some of us have gone through great loss and heartache and managed to live through it and continue to lead full and meaningful lives.  My worries have diminished over time, and when I do have a worry or concern I seek the help of God through prayer.

"Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear.  All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer."  ~  Colossians 4:2

Linking to Deb's This or That Thursdays and Nancy's Rural Thursday and Leanne's Flower Art Friday.....

Until next time....