What If…What If…?

Have you ever worried? Or perhaps I can safely ask, What do you worry about? Are there days when you’d prefer staying in bed rather than getting up?

My mother’s doctor once told her she worried because she didn’t have something to worry about. It seems my mom was one of those people, who, having worried for so long, couldn’t imagine life without having something to worry about. In some ways it was like sitting in a rocking chair: something to do, but getting nowhere.

I read recently that being anxious—another word for worry—means to divide the mind. I had to think on that…to divide the mind, but it really is quite simple: to split your thinking into something that is logical and something that is beyond reason.

Been there. Done that!

I remember my first experience of worrying about my husband. We were both working. I worked at the bank as head teller. Doug travelled Ontario as a sales rep for a chinaware company. We had a small network of Christian friends, had bought our first house and I was expecting our first child. One winter night Doug was late coming home for supper. Really late. Like 3 hours. I had him crashed in a ditch on a lonely road in a remote part of Ontario. I had him bleeding, unconscious… or worse. I paced and I worried, and I imagined all the horrible things I could possibly imagine. What if… what if… divided my mind. And then he pulled the car into the driveway. Relief, joy, and a flood of tears swept over me, and I smothered him with kisses. He loved it! And then he innocently told me—with no thought as to repercussions—why he was so late…he was visiting a friend around the corner—like six houses away!— and loss track of the time. I quickly understood why a wife would never consider divorcing her husband but she might consider murdering him.

Tomorrow I have cataract surgery, then again in nine days. Many people have encouraged me with their positive experiences and that has helped me head into the unknown with a sense of peace. However, there was one comment—there always is that one comment—that was shared that left me wondering, “Hmmm, I wonder if that will happen to me?” And the hungry worry monster raised its ugly head!

As life would have it, the day following the unsolicited advice, I had to teach a Bible lesson on several verses on the topic of worry. (I really do think God has a sense of humour…or maybe He was giving me opportunity to choose trust and peace over fear and worry.) I found myself sharing what I soon would need to put into practise.

I asked a simple question: How does worry affect our lives? The comments were shared quickly, and surprisingly—or, maybe not so surprisingly—matched my notes:

• Worry damages our health; our minds get chopped up into pieces, or divided.
• The object of our worry consumes our thoughts and we become unproductive.
• Sadly, when we are caught up in the web of worry, we mistreat people around us.
• And worry reduces our ability to trust God.

Two of my favourite authors have commented on the subject.

Max Lucado, Christian author and preacher:

“Anxiety does come with life but it doesn’t have to run or consume your life.”

John Ortberg Jr., author of The Me I Want to Be:

“We tend to be preoccupied by our problems when we have a heightened sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of power. Today, see each problem as an invitation to prayer.”

And an anonymous quote,

“Don’t worry about tomorrow, God is already there.”

I’m going with that!