What's Around the Corner?

How many times have we been told to not worry? For some of us it might only be every once and a while, before a major event or prior to stepping out of our comfort zone, but for those of us chronic worriers, the phrase “don’t worry about it” is a staple of everyday life.  But whether we only worry every once in a while, or worry every day, the truth is the burden of worry affects each and every one of us.

 In reality, life lends itself to worry.  With all of the stresses that we encounter, worrying about what will happen next or how things will play out may seem like a natural human instinct.  However, sometimes our worries get so out of control they not only impact us physically by giving us clammy hands, butterflies, and the occasional case of Restless Leg Syndrome, but they can also manifest themselves in other ways. Without even realizing it worrying can have effects on us both emotionally and spiritually.

With so many things going on in our busy lives, it  is very easy to become distracted.  When we worry, the probability of us being distracted skyrockets. We miss all that is happening now because we are so focused on everything that might, or might not, happen later.  We get so caught up in our future lives that we forget to live our current ones.  The distractions caused by worry are completely unnecessary though, simply because the concept of worry itself is not one that is essential in our day to day lives.

Although worrying is second nature to all of us, this instinct is really just a mechanism to avoid trusting in God’s plan.  When we trust that things will work themselves out for the better, that whatever happens was meant to be, and that no matter what God will always be with us, there is no reason to worry about next week, tomorrow, or even this afternoon.  If we trust that we have been set on the right path by a skilled guide, who not only knows the path ahead, but who created it, we can be relived of the burden of worry.         

By fasting from worry and focusing on trust, we are able to better experience all that is on our path.  Since we do not know what we will encounter on the road ahead, we must trust that it has been placed there for a reason.  By trusting that any and everything we face in our lives is manageable in God’s eyes, we will feel absolutely no need to worry about what the future holds.

This kind of abundant trust is not something that will happen overnight.  Like a dilapidated and overgrown garden that takes time to be revitalized, fully trusting in God will take time to achieve. We must give ourselves some time to weed out the worry growing in our hearts and plant new trust in its place.  Worry, like pesky weeds, will occasionally creep back into our hearts and try to encroach upon our growing trust, nevertheless, like a careful gardener we must catch the worry weeds and take them out as soon as possible.  By doing so, we will eventually be able to have a pristine garden of trust, free of worry and all of the negativness that come with it.  

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them … Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

Ignoring Stop Signs

We, as students, as women, and as humans, have the tendency to schedule our lives away.  We are constantly going - always looking ahead at the next thing on our endless list of tasks that need to be performed in the, much too short, 24 hour, day.  Schedules are, of course, an essential part of everyday life, but when we start to plan not only hours, but days, weeks, and even months in advance, a problem starts to arise.

We forget to take time to stop.

It is vital that we take time out of our busy lives to stop.

Stop talking.  Stop moving. Stop planning. Stop thinking. Stop everything. And just be still. 

Many of us probably think that being still is overrated.  We think that we can do it all – see the world, experience everything, and manage it all on our own.  However, we are merely humans, and cannot be anything more, therefore we are unable to be everything, do everything, and see everything, whether we take the time to be still or not. 

It is important that we take the time to acknowledge that we aren’t able to do everything and that by trying, we are not only missing things, but we are ignoring what God wants for us.  God does not want us to constantly plan our lives; He wants us to live them.  And as contradictory as it may seem, in order to lives our lives to the fullest and according to God’s plan, we need to stop them for a few seconds every now and again.  In other words, we need to be still in order to get back on track with God and hear what he wants for us. 

This concept itself may seem easy initially, however, it is one of the hardest things we, as Christians, are called to do.  At times, it can seem almost impossible to totally halt everything in our lives, even if it is only for a few brief moments, but it is at the times when we are busiest that we need to make time to be still. Letting ourselves be still can seem pointless and a waste of time, especially because there are so many things that we think need to be done.  Just forgetting about them for a second can be one of the greatest challenges we face. 

However, with great challenges come great rewards, and this reward is most definitely great. 

By completely being still we are able to fully open ourselves up to God and all of His wonderful gifts.  We are essentially saying “Here I am God. Show me where to go.” When God sees this, He not only hears us loud and clear, but will always show us exactly what we need.  He will allow us to see all of His creation in a new light, and enjoy all that we have been missing.  When we take just a few moments to be still, we are able to see the majesty of the world around us, the beauty of its creator, and a glimpse of the future. 

There is a whole world right under our noses and we are missing more and more of it every day.  So today, make it your mission to stop missing out on your life, and take a minute to be still.  All it takes is 60 seconds out of your day to sit somewhere quiet, shut the doors to your brain, and open the ones to your heart. Whatever God allows to invite itself into your newly open and still heart is exactly what He knows you need.  So don’t just accept it, but use it to live your life the way He wants you to. 

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”