I believe I needed that lesson more than Eli did. As I've confessed on this blog before, I'm a worrier. I have been since I was little. Its definitely a weakness that I struggle with... sometimes a lot. In the book I'm reading, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, the author dedicates a whole chapter to the issue of worrying. She points out that there is a difference between concern and worry. I liked that- A LOT! I have come to the personal conviction that worry is sin, so when people compliment me by saying, "Oh, I was so worried about you!" I think, no don't do that! Maybe, "How are you doing? I've been concerned for you." would be a better way to phrase that emotion. I'm trying to tame my tongue to use the word concern for concerning things and teach my children that it is wrong to worry. The author said, "Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from Him." Worrying usually creates more problems as we let a problem consume our minds as we obsess over it. I like how Weaver put it:
"The truth is, we live surrounded by opportunities for fear, anxiety, and worry. Because our world is filled with struggles and real pain, we face legitimate concerns every day. Bad things do happen to good people- and not-so-good people as well. Real problems to occur, usually on a daily basis. People don't act the way they ought to. Relationships falter and sometimes fail. There is potential for pain all around us. And there are certainly things that require concern and action on our part."
The last thing I want to share from the book is a statistic she found.
One interesting set of statistics indicates that there is nothing we can do about 70% of our worries:
What 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 that can be solved
Wow! Now here's how bad of a case of worry-itis I have. (That would be a nasty case of inflammation of the worries! :) ) On my way home from a friends house the other night, I got a little scared walking back to my van in the dark. I quickly scanned the back seats to make sure nobody was there, jumped in and locked the door. For the next ten minutes, as I made my way back home, I let my worrying imagination take over. By the time I pulled up into my driveway, my imagination had me abducted by a scary man. Jonny didn't realize I was missing until morning, and by that time it would be too late- I'd already be in another state. He'd remarry, and after a year I'd get rescued and return to my family.... only to find I had been replaced. Siah had changed completely and had no idea who I was. Noah was acting too shy to hug me, and Eli, although remembering me, thought his new mom was much more lovable than me! And a real dinger- Jonny was in love with another woman! Ahh!! How destructive is that??!!
Last night I turned on SuperNanny while I folded laundry. The family Jo went to visit was a man with three blond boys- spaced out similar to ours. They had a trampoline just like ours. The mom? She died a couple years ago to breast cancer! Luckily, I didn't let my mind wander too far on that one. It did, however, have me in tears!
Oh goodness! I'm-a-still-a-learnin'! Gotta keep my eyes on JESUS!
"Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth." -Prov. 17:24
1 comment:
Yes! I'm reading the book again, its been about 10years since I read it the first time and its good stuff that we all need constant reminders of
Love Mom
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