Wisdom is most often found in the strangest places.
Like at a birthday party, when you’re sitting only a few feet away from a few people who are in a deep conversation…
Thoughts are pretty scary. I dare say we don’t often realize what we are thinking about, much of the day.
I studied Adolescent AND Abnormal Psychology in college,
and one required class dealt almost exclusively with how the brain works and how it affects our
feelings, knowledge, thoughts, actions, etc.
All of our thoughts are recorded in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex,
and repeated thoughts – regardless of what they are, cause a deeper embedding on our brain.
This creates a pattern, which gets stronger and stronger, each time we think of that topic.
So…when we think about something enough to create a worry,
we tend to worry more and more, because of the pattern in our brain.
We cannot stop this until we find something else to think about, instead.
Before I completely lose you, let me back up…
Life has been pretty crazy for me, lately, with a lot of things being abnormal.
Now, I’m not a worrier, by nature.
Normally, I’m very laid back, with a “whatever happens, happens” type of mentality,
and don’t get easily upset or flustered about too much.
But lately… I’ve found myself worrying over all the changes occurring in my life.
Stress has a way of showing itself in lots of different ways that often, we don’t even realize is stress related.
We get attitudes for no reason, we lash out at those we love the most,
we don’t eat/sleep, or eat/sleep more than usual, depending on the person,
we pick fights, get sick, etc…
That’s all been me, the past few weeks.
But last night I found myself at a birthday celebration.
A welcome release from the worries that have been plaguing me, as of late.
The people involved in the conversation discussed topics from philosophical discussions about God,
the galaxy/creation, TV shows and PBS specials.
I wasn’t interested in what was being said, for the most part, and was happily indulging my inner “fat kid”
by eating a huge piece of cake AND ice cream
(I remembered my lactose pills!
And, I didn’t eat a bite of anything sweet for 2 days
in preparation for the gorging I knew would occur at this party *wink*)
But something a person said caught my attention and I did the “head snap”
where I turned so quickly, I inadvertently did the “Whip of the hair”
It went something like this: “If God thought it important enough to speak about 365 times in the bible, don’t you think it’s pretty important?”
Of course, I immediately thought “That’s one time for each day of the year, so He is wanting to remind us every day.”
What was being spoken about so much, you ask?
Worry.
Yes, over and over again, God tells us not to worry.
Matthew 6:34 – “…Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself…” (HCSB)
Phillippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (HCSB)
Luke 12:26 “If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?” (HCSB)
and my personal favorite: Matthew 6:27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (NIV)
It was as if God sat down right beside me and said “Take a listen to that conversation right beside you”, and then got up and walked away before I could respond.
I felt a peace come over me that I can’t explain.
This verse in the bible makes SO much more sense, now that I’m an adult and I DO worry, sometimes:
“…Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report…think on these things.” (Phillippians 4:8)
Let the peace that is offered freely fall on you today and let’s spend more time being and feeling happy and peaceful and stop worrying so much.
“Every little thing, is gonna be alright”