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- Feb 9, 2004
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Worry Goo - June 02, 2006
I have friends who are organizational whizzes. I am nothing at all like them. I love them, often wish I WAS them, but sadly, there are hardly any similarities. I have a few pockets of organization in my life. Well, probably just enough to keep my family from going completely insane and to keep my editors from losing their spirituality.
I do have one friend, however, who is much more like me than I'm sure she would ever want to admit. Organization? Not exactly her watchword either. Her pickup truck, for instance, looks like it belongs to a homeless person. You would almost swear all her worldly goods are in there.
I took a ride in her truck recently, and I actually had to sit on a two-foot pile of junk mail, candy wrappers, books, file folders, and old takeout bags from at least a couple of month's worth of fast food. There had to have been six pairs of shoes in the floorboard. They were sitting on top of a pile of clothes. I think she could've been locked out of her house for a solid week without experiencing any real wardrobe shortages.
I started to sit down on her taxes and noticed there was enough Bible study material under there to cause significant face-glowage. But all fashion, government and spiritual stuff aside, I had to draw the line at sitting on the can of biscuits I saw poking out from under some Styrofoam containers.
"Hey, I'm not sitting on a can of biscuits. What if it popped open and exploded biscuit goo and can shrapnel all over my rear end?"
"No way," she laughed. "It's been in here since last Christmas. Even if it popped open, the insides are probably too shriveled to do any damage."
I wasn't convinced. As a matter of fact, I was picturing an entire office of health insurance personnel puzzled over where to file a claim reading, "cause of injury: assailed by canned bread product." You really have to be careful what you sit on.
Funny that I should worry about what I was sitting on when worry itself can be such a dangerous thing to sit on. Jesus knew we would have worrying tendencies. He addressed it point blank in Matthew 6:27 when he asked the question, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
Every now and then, we need to ask ourselves if there's anything we're sitting on that we shouldn't be. Are there any worries threatening to explode worry-goo all over our lives?
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us what to do instead of worrying. "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (MSG)
When we're worried, we're consumed by whatever it is we're fretting over. The focus of our worry becomes all we can think about. And how can our focus be on worry and on Christ at the same time?
Let's trade worry for prayer. It's a trade that brings the peace of God.
Incidentally, it might be one less thing for you to worry about if I go ahead and tell you that there were no bread-related injuries reported after the truck ride. Not even a dough-covered backside. And there were fewer worries for me, too, since I realized that if any dough-debacles did occur and I needed to change clothes, there were several outfit choices in the floorboard.
Rhonda Rhea is the author of "Who Put the Cat in the Fridge" and other insanely fun books, including "Amusing Grace" and "Turkey Soup for the Soul--Tastes Just Like Chicken." She is a radio personality and humor columnist and speaks at conferences and events nationwide. Rhonda lives in the St. Louis area with her pastor/husband and their five children. Find out more at www.RhondaRhea.net.
I have friends who are organizational whizzes. I am nothing at all like them. I love them, often wish I WAS them, but sadly, there are hardly any similarities. I have a few pockets of organization in my life. Well, probably just enough to keep my family from going completely insane and to keep my editors from losing their spirituality.
I do have one friend, however, who is much more like me than I'm sure she would ever want to admit. Organization? Not exactly her watchword either. Her pickup truck, for instance, looks like it belongs to a homeless person. You would almost swear all her worldly goods are in there.
I took a ride in her truck recently, and I actually had to sit on a two-foot pile of junk mail, candy wrappers, books, file folders, and old takeout bags from at least a couple of month's worth of fast food. There had to have been six pairs of shoes in the floorboard. They were sitting on top of a pile of clothes. I think she could've been locked out of her house for a solid week without experiencing any real wardrobe shortages.
I started to sit down on her taxes and noticed there was enough Bible study material under there to cause significant face-glowage. But all fashion, government and spiritual stuff aside, I had to draw the line at sitting on the can of biscuits I saw poking out from under some Styrofoam containers.
"Hey, I'm not sitting on a can of biscuits. What if it popped open and exploded biscuit goo and can shrapnel all over my rear end?"
"No way," she laughed. "It's been in here since last Christmas. Even if it popped open, the insides are probably too shriveled to do any damage."
I wasn't convinced. As a matter of fact, I was picturing an entire office of health insurance personnel puzzled over where to file a claim reading, "cause of injury: assailed by canned bread product." You really have to be careful what you sit on.
Funny that I should worry about what I was sitting on when worry itself can be such a dangerous thing to sit on. Jesus knew we would have worrying tendencies. He addressed it point blank in Matthew 6:27 when he asked the question, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
Every now and then, we need to ask ourselves if there's anything we're sitting on that we shouldn't be. Are there any worries threatening to explode worry-goo all over our lives?
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us what to do instead of worrying. "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (MSG)
When we're worried, we're consumed by whatever it is we're fretting over. The focus of our worry becomes all we can think about. And how can our focus be on worry and on Christ at the same time?
Let's trade worry for prayer. It's a trade that brings the peace of God.
Incidentally, it might be one less thing for you to worry about if I go ahead and tell you that there were no bread-related injuries reported after the truck ride. Not even a dough-covered backside. And there were fewer worries for me, too, since I realized that if any dough-debacles did occur and I needed to change clothes, there were several outfit choices in the floorboard.
Rhonda Rhea is the author of "Who Put the Cat in the Fridge" and other insanely fun books, including "Amusing Grace" and "Turkey Soup for the Soul--Tastes Just Like Chicken." She is a radio personality and humor columnist and speaks at conferences and events nationwide. Rhonda lives in the St. Louis area with her pastor/husband and their five children. Find out more at www.RhondaRhea.net.
