“I’m a worrier” is a phrase I heard several times today which caused me to wonder why it was showing up for me multiple times. I checked in to see if “I’m a worrier” is true for me. While I would like to claim that I am beyond worrying, truth be told, I sometimes worry.
When I catch myself in a mindset of worry, I can feel the tension rise in my body. My brow furrows, my shoulders rise, my chest tightens, and my stomach turns. I know this to be true for each time I find myself feeling worried, I undo each these things. I loosen my brow, drop my shoulders, and breathe deeply in order to relax my chest and stomach.
I chide myself for having wasted even a moment of my day in worry. I have never creatively solved a single challenge by worrying about it. In fact, I have exacerbated the experience, if anything. I have never changed any aspect of what I am worrying about except to intensify it with my limiting energy and thoughts.
Luke 12:25-30 so gently reminds us:
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. First, some of my most glorious childhood memories are of rolling around in the grass and wildflowers on sunny summer afternoons. I so vividly recall picking berries for my snack so I could remain in my playtime just a bit longer. The happiest days I can recall I had not a care in the world except to spend the entire day savoring my carefree life in the hills of western Pennsylvania. My days ended by carrying home fistfuls of wildflowers to keep in a vase in my bedroom. They served as beautiful reminders of my day’s adventures. When I last visited my mother at my childhood home, I once again walked the hills and returned with a fistful of beautiful wildflowers of all kinds and colors.
Imaging the wildflowers being compared to King Solomon in all his glory creates such a vivid image of lushness. When I picture King Solomon in his finest regalia and compare that to the wildflowers of my youthful memories, how could I even consider spending time in worry? When I imagine King Solomon in his bejeweled crown and lush flowing robe, I then remember that the grasses and flowers are just as glorious and beautiful. How could I allow a single thought of worry to overtake my mind? Do I really want to exchange even a moment of life for a worry?’ I think not.
Indeed, not an hour or even a single minute is added to life through worrying. When I worry it is founded in fear of the future and fear of the unknown. Or perhaps more accurately, when I am being completely honest with myself, it is the fear that I cannot be in control of the future “oh, you of little faith”. With this admonishment, I remember to let tomorrow take care of itself. Live today for all it is worth and enjoy the treasures that are revealed all along the way.