Do We Wait Upon Worry?

Waking up to a thunder storm on Monday does not always inspire a productive day...it is hard to get up when you know from the start you will be dealing with rain and cold even before you have to get out of the warm and comfortable bed.  Not to mention that gray skies don't give me the same skip in my step as the blue and sunny skies of other days.  Rainy days feel like good days for reflection, which may be why I find myself pondering the dynamic of waiting and worrying today.

Sometimes I actively wait upon something, it gives me energy and vision to think of possibilities and ideas.  But there is also a fine line where that activity moves over into an area of worrying about how things will work out or not.  And once I get to that point it can take time for me to see that I have shifted.  Then it takes even more time to work myself out of the distraction of worrying about what might happen.  For me this worry is like the overcast skies and rain clouds of a thunderstorm.  I know before I begin the day that everything will be colored by this reality and it's hard not to give into the invitation to be lazy and just let the day slip by without digging into anything.  Don't get me wrong some days that is exactly the right thing to do.  Other days there is a second invitation to actively seek out ways to engage in the life before us while giving ourselves permission to not worry about what might happen and instead to live for today. 

For me though, it is so easy to get pulled into the worry that it can take my mind far from the things that i might do to build toward the possibilities I am waiting for.  I can be so distracted by my anxiety that I don't see the small steps before me that move me in the direction I want to go.  I think of the saying that "you can't see the forest for the trees."  If our focus is so intense on anything, even really good ideas, hopes, dreams we may find ourselves motionless or at the very least sluggish about living life fully.  


In Matthew 25:31-34, Jesus says,

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (NLT)

Funny that some lessons I remember "learning" have a way of cropping up again...so I am reminded today that rainy days come and they go.  No matter the weather I have choice to make about how I live.  I can take a deep breath and begin to step out, hoping soon to find shelter or sunshine, or I can stand still in the rain.  Seems like a no brainer as I watch the water pour down the windows, however, sometimes I find that I have been standing still in the proverbial rain and have almost forgotten how long I have been there.

I wonder how much life I miss when my eyes focus only on the things I wait upon...lots of things in life are worth waiting for but not worrying over.  So if you find yourself living in more rainy days than not maybe there is an invitation to move towards a sunny spot or a shelter that will give you a new perspective on your journey or at the very least keep you from getting drenched by worry. 


It is one thing to get caught in the rain and another to hold yourself captive there.  I hope we can all find the beauty of our journeys through our days, rain or shine.  May we all look to the future with hope and may worry not distract us from the joy of the moment for the sake of what is to come. 

An Identity Opportunity

I have been thinking a lot about identity lately. It’s  stressful to really look deeply into who we are (or aren't) because we may find that some things need to change in order for us to become the people God wants us to be.

I have heard over the years that the Chinese symbol for "crisis" is also the symbol for "opportunity."  So this "crisis" that I have been experiencing of trying to understand the ways that God is calling me and our community to expand our definitions of who we are is an opportunity to claim those things about ourselves that help us and to leave behind some of those things that hold us back.  So easy to say...

When children start the process of going from childhood to adulthood the stages are often labeled as "growing pains"  because it is hard to do but there is no other choice.  Some things just have to grow and change even if we aren't ready or don't really want them to change.  Have you ever thought that a teenage boy wants his voice to crack when he's speaking in front of his class or that a teenager girl wants to go through the "awkward" stages as her body changes?  I don't remember it being like that...I remember having no choice but trying to make the best of it at the time.  

I wonder though if part of the problem now is that I expected to be done with dealing with the changes after puberty was over, like growing up had an endpoint.  Do we set ourselves up for even more discomfort with the changes that are inherent in living by telling ourselves that only a few times in life will the changes be out of our control?  The thing I am learning is that often things are out of my control but there are lots of opportunities for me to understand or gracefully address the changes in my life and in the development of our community of faith.  (There is also the option of giving into the chaos and losing almost all perspective, I confess I sometimes find myself there :) )  So how do we as a community engage in the opportunity of renewal and recreation by gracefully attending to the changes of our life together and finding ways to continue living through the sometimes difficult "growing pains" of discovering a new identity?  

  

I don’t have the answer, but I believe that together we may discover the answers by embracing the changes while seeking answers to the questions that challenge us and our world.