Why do I worry?  Maybe it’s because I think I have the super power of worrying.  The more I worry, the more I can control the situation.  That would be pretty awesome but not likely I guess.  Or maybe it’s because I enjoy that out of control, gut wrenching feeling when I worry.  No, no, that’s not it either.  It’s really because worrying gives me a good excuse to eat chocolate. That’s got to be it!  Who doesn’t love a good excuse to eat chocolate?  And that sweet yummy goodness definitely “helps” when I’m worried!  Problem is, if I’m worried all the time…well, that’s a lot of chocolate…and, incidentally, pounds.

So what’s the real reason?  Why do I worry?  Human nature?  Because I selfishly feel the need to be in control of all situations?  (Very big headed of me, I know.)  Is it because I’m a Mom?  Maybe, but that’s another post for another day.  I don’t know if I have the perfect answer to the question.  But my best answer is because I have a trust issue.  I know I cannot control every situation or everyone’s actions.  I have to trust everyone will make the best choice in every situation but that’s not the trust I am talking about.

Matthew 6:27

Can any of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?

We definitely cannot add hours to our lives from worry but I do think we can lose hours of our lives to worrying.  From just this past year, if I had all the time back I spent worrying about this or that I would, by now, probably have an extra month.  For a 30 day month there are 720 hours.  Seven hundred and twenty hours seems like a lot of time to spend worrying but if you average that time into a single year it comes to be a little less than 2 hours of worrying a day.  Granted, I don’t worry 2 hours every day.  Sometimes I worry more…

I like to think of all the good things I could do with that extra month of time: I could volunteer more, take my kids out to the park or visit with friends and family.  Sometimes maybe I could use that time to do something for myself, like maybe blow dry my hair instead of running out the door with a wet head everyday or have a minute to file my nails.  (It’s the little things that keep me happy!)

I may have gotten away from the point.

If I really look hard at those times I worry, my trust issue is glaring right back at me.  Am I trusting the One who is really in control to work everything for my good?  Or am I nervous something is not going to go exactly the way I would have planned?  Funny thing about my plans, they don’t always work out the best for me.  So who am I trusting?  Am I trusting myself to make the best decisions or am I relying on the Lord to put every piece in place in every situation?  The right answer, and I want this to be my answer, would be to say, “Of course I am trusting God!” but, right now, I would be a big fat liar if I said that.  How do I know?  Because I worry so much!

Psalm 112:7

They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are secure trusting in the Lord.

I AM A WORK IN PROGRESS!