WORRY Worms

Not a pretty picture is it?  Yet that is reminds me of worry in my head.  "Worry is like eating worms.  It wiggles and squirms in your head squishes and squeezes your heart, and coats all your thoughts and actions with fear.  Worry recycles "what ifs" like worms recycle garbage."  This is the description of worry in my book, Junk or Joy.  

Worry squishes and squeezes your heart.  Often just a matter-of-fact statement about what is going on and a short reassurance from a parent is all that is needed to put a child's heart at rest.  For the child, if Mommy and Daddy aren't upset, then they have it taken care of and I don't have to worry.  Wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy for adults?  What would your life be like if you could hand your troubles and uncertainties over to Father God in the same way.  God is not worried about your problem.  It does not take Him by surprise.  He does not worry and wring His hands.  So can we, like children, trust Our Father to provide and take care of us in troubled times?  This is the crux of faith and the key to "unsurpassed peace".  Phillipians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Worry coats all your thoughts and actions with fear. I find getting my priorities in order, help the worry worms a lot.  If my priority is a spotless house, then I will worry about every person that comes into my house and the mess they will make and "leave for me to clean up because I am the only one who does it correctly".  If my priority is a happy, trusting child, then I know that I cannot be hypercritical about their mistakes and I can forgive them just as I need their forgiveness when I get angry.  Our Father is also forgiving about our mistakes.  He looks at our hearts the way we look at our children's hearts.  Did they "do it on purpose" and did they "know what they were doing"?  Are they sorry?  Then, let’s try it again.

Worry recycles "what ifs" over and over in your head like worms turn soil over and over.  Like offense, if you rehearse it in your thoughts, the worry grows bigger and bigger and bigger.  I think of it like a hamster running endlessly around a wheel and I purposely stop the wheel by wedging a stick in the spokes!  That stick often looks like the sword of the Spirit or the word of God.  It is easy to skip to the worst possible scenario in very little time.  This creates fear and anxiety for everyone around--especially children.  When the adults in their lives are worried and upset, children easily pick up the mood and are upset because they know something is amiss, but often they are not given the facts so they don't know what to expect.  Normal life throws all kinds of surprises at us, but inconsistency and not enough information, should not add to the uneasy mystery!

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

First, trust is the toxic poison that kills worry worms!  Trust, however, is something that is built over time as someone proves faithful.  The same is true of God our Father.  Start with giving God the small worries and let Him prove Himself faithful.  The first time I did this was with my schedule.  I had a day that was so tightly packed that there was no way to get from one thing to the other so I ask God to be in charge of my schedule.  From the minute I walked into work, I was dumb struck to watch Him cancel, rearrange, and help me make everything in plenty of time!  I was so impressed that I put God in charge of my schedule permanently.  Now if something is moved or cancelled; I don't worry, but know that He has another plan!  Over time He has proven trustworthy in that area for me and I no longer worry about my schedule. 

Second, refusing to feed the worms with your thoughts, starves them.  If I refuse to give mental real estate to worry, it will die and eventually not even manifest in the first place.  You can do this by deliberately putting your thoughts on something else.  I find scriptures such as "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today's trouble is enough for today."  (Matt 6:34) helps and also “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” from 2 Cor. 10:5.  Music and songs are effective worry blockers.  This is much easier to say than to do--especially if you have been told or have told yourself that "I worry about this or that" or you believe lies about having to take care of everything yourself because no one else will.  Recognizing these root lies and vows and deconstructing them as is discussed in my “No Voice Lies” blog, is paramount.  Worry turns into fear and Job said the things you fear, often come upon you.

Starvation and trust poison are both effective worry worm killers.  A third way to kill worry is with action.  If you are one to pace the floor or toss and turn all night with worry, try doing something you like such as a hobby.  This is one reason I love to sew.  When I am sewing, it is hard to think of other things.  Choose a hobby that you enjoy and that takes your physical and mental energy.  Like I say in my book, Offense, Get Off My Fence,  you have to spit out the bubble gum and refuse to entertain the "what ifs".  My dad says that 98% of what we worry about never happens any way.  Eventually you learn to take one day at a time. 

Worry sometimes happens because of a lack of information.  Do what you can to get the facts you need, act on the information to fulfill your part, and then leave what you don't know to God.  Be sure to ask God for wisdom and protection in the situation.  Then don't give it "brain space".  Let God help you take out the garbage of worry. 

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