A Place at the Table, day 5

I was worried about yesterday, seeing as how I had spent the day before feasting.  I was afraid that my body might have gone back into "regular diet" mode and that I would revisit the hunger pangs and anger of the previous week.  It turns out that none of those fears were founded.  Outside of an odd craving for a cold schooner of Shiner at about 7:00, my desires were pretty well under control.  At least for one day.

And it made me think about the nature of worry.  There's this illustration that Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount where he compares us to birds and flowers and grass and makes the point that, if God takes care of all of those things. why would we envision ourselves as less important?  When I was a freshman at Lincoln Christian College, I had to memorize that passage in its entirety (along with the rest of Matthew 5, 6 & 7).  So, I know that passage well.  But it is still such a challenge to live that out.

The statistics on worry are pretty enlightening.  I remember reading about a study that a smart person did about worry.  About 40% of the things that we worry about never come to fruition.  Another 30% of the things we worry about are things that have happened in the past.  Still another 12% of our worries have to do with other people's opinions of us -- at least our perception of their perception of us.  And still another 10% are needless health worries -- worries that actually cause our health to decrease due to the worry.  That leaves 8% of our worries devoted to legitimate concerns.  Hardly seems worth all of the mindspace that we devote to it, does it?

It continues to amaze me how, when you strip away things from your life, you begin to examine the pieces that remain.  And in a lot of ways, you don't like what you see.  I worry far to often about far too much.  Will the bills be paid?  Am I doing what I was called and created to do?  Will my kids grow up to love God and people?  What does so-and-so really think of me?

In the daily reading for day 5 (A Place at the Table, by Chris Seay), Chris points out that the remedy for worry is gratitude.  His challenge was to just have a piece of paper handy and to spend the day writing down the things that you are grateful for.  I honestly didn't read that devotion until today, so I didn't even attempt that.  I was too worried about other things.  So, maybe today I'll have the piece of paper next to me to write those things down.  Will you try it as well?

I WILL tell you this: the first thing I'll write on that paper (through gritted teeth) is black coffee.  Lots and lots of black coffee.