Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
(John 14.27
NRSV)
Bombeck tells about a worrier named Estelle. She is a mother from Path, Rhode Island; and as a parent she elevated worrying to an art form. Her child was a cancer patient, so some of her concerns were legitimate, but still, Estelle admits, she carried worrying a bit too far. She says that as a parent it was her duty to worry. And as the parent of an oncology patient, she perfected it. She kept lists of her worries in case she forgot one. Every time something happened in her life she would revise the list, developing intricate new worries. Within a six year period, she says, she had a list of 142 things to worry about. Six actually happened, including two that were not even on her list. She eventually decided she wasn't as efficient as she thought she was, but, she adds, "I keep practicing."
Do you know anybody like that? Maybe yourself? Someone once said that, "Worry is an old man With a bended head Carrying a load of feathers Which he thinks are lead."
Studies show that a lot of people are troubled, unhappy, and worried; and some with good reason. Jesus asked his disciples, "Why are you troubled?" That's a good question for many of us!
Dear God, help me find the off switch of worry. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ron Newhouse
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