If God so clothes the grass of the field,which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’All these things the pagans seek.Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,and all these things will be given you besides.Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Are you a worrywart? This Sunday's gospel reading is something I can identify with. I'm a worrier by nature. A "worrywart" by trade. I always envy people who can let things go and don't seem to worry about anything. I'm the opposite. It's hard for me not to become anxious, almost physically ill worrying about something. For example, on Friday my AC/furnace guy came over to the house for semi-annual maintenance. He discovered the gas yard service line isn't up to code. In fact, the pipe is severely rusted and could potentially start leaking. Plus, I don't have a special safety tracer line. The good news is I have the cash to fix it. The bad news is that money was going toward paying off repairs I had done last year. Not only am I worried that my house could eventually blow up, I'm worried that the contractors will start digging in the yard and find more problems. I'm worried at how unsightly my yard will look after trenching. I'm worried, worried, worried!!! Worry intensifies until I begin what I call "catastrophic thinking":
I just need to sell this stupid house. I'm tired of being house poor! I'm never going to get out of house debt! I can't stand not having enough equity to sell. Those stupid old owners that let stuff slide so now I have to fix everything! Uh! If I was only married, my husband could help me with all of these expenses. A duel income would certainly help. Oh, why me? Why can't I ever get ahead? So tired of my crap life!!
My catastrophic thinking is precisely what Our Lord does NOT want me (or others) to go through. How important to pause for a moment and think: God has everything under control. I can't waste away precious hours of my short life all worried about things I cannot control. In fact, it's a good thing the gas piping issue was spotted BEFORE a leak, an explosion or fire took place. Sometimes the right thing to do when Mr. Worry knocks on the door to is to pray:
Dear Lord, please calm down my racing thoughts so I can think clearly! I feel so stressed right now with more unexpected issues. I see that you are here with me and you don't want me to worry. These catastrophic worries are not from you but from the Devil. He loves to make me feel miserable and anxious! I am handing my worries to you, Jesus! Please make me feel at peace and give me the strength to positively endure my inconveniences and burdens. Amen!
Do not worry about tomorrow. It's amazing Christ's wisdom and sensitivity toward his people. He understood the worry and anxiety that ravaged peoples lives on a regular basis. Life in antiquity was hard. The Israelites farmed all of their own food. They most likely worried about droughts and bad crops. The women handmade all their clothes and probably worried about the availability of fabrics and the time consuming process of garment making. Then, there was always the threat of pagan influence, thieves, and encounters with enemy tribes. People worried about the debts they owned to merchants. Mothers worried about their children and how they'd feed them during years of famine. Interesting, many of these same worries affect us today.
Worry is definitely a part of the human framework. A little worry is ok when it comes to recognizing danger and safety. However, worrying about things of the future that we cannot control or worrying about things we did in the past doesn't help us live the present in a healthy way.
Worry & Over-Consumption We must remember: God always grants us what we need not necessarily what we want. I think a lot of our useless and catastrophic worries stem from over-consumption and materialism. We worry because we don't have what we want! We worry about our looks so we opt for cosmetic surgery. We worry about our weight so starve ourselves. We worry about how "good" we look to others so we buy the fancy cars and big houses. These are all useless, trivial worries!
We should turn our worry into action. Drop our worries into the palms of Christ's loving hands. Stop allowing our distorted thoughts and outside influences to kill our connection with Christ. Turn to him in fervent prayer so that the worries of our lives do not bog us down to the point we see only bad in ourselves. God created each one of us in his own image. He loves us so much. Seek his Kingdom first. Amazing how so many worries relieve themselves and don't seem so bad.
Always remember: Tomorrow will take care of itself! Live for the present!
-J.
Worry is definitely a part of the human framework. A little worry is ok when it comes to recognizing danger and safety. However, worrying about things of the future that we cannot control or worrying about things we did in the past doesn't help us live the present in a healthy way.
Worry & Over-Consumption We must remember: God always grants us what we need not necessarily what we want. I think a lot of our useless and catastrophic worries stem from over-consumption and materialism. We worry because we don't have what we want! We worry about our looks so we opt for cosmetic surgery. We worry about our weight so starve ourselves. We worry about how "good" we look to others so we buy the fancy cars and big houses. These are all useless, trivial worries!
We should turn our worry into action. Drop our worries into the palms of Christ's loving hands. Stop allowing our distorted thoughts and outside influences to kill our connection with Christ. Turn to him in fervent prayer so that the worries of our lives do not bog us down to the point we see only bad in ourselves. God created each one of us in his own image. He loves us so much. Seek his Kingdom first. Amazing how so many worries relieve themselves and don't seem so bad.
Always remember: Tomorrow will take care of itself! Live for the present!
-J.
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