“Do not worry about your life … what you will eat or what you will drink.” Sound familiar?
How about this gem? “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”
These are from the famous Matthew passage (6:25-34) that so many of us call one of our favourites. We love it because Jesus is soothing us with lovely words about God caring for us more than the lilies of the field and the birds of the air.
One year I gave up worry for Lent. It was a hard practice. Every time I started to worry about something I had to stop and say to myself “you can’t do that, Julie. You gave up worry for Lent.”
I must admit – it was liberating. I still had all the same struggles: school paper deadlines, paying rent, a sick friend … but I wasn’t allowed to worry.
And what happened? I leaned on God … a lot more. I sought out the kingdom of God, I reached out for God’s support and guidance. And, in so doing, deepened my connection and gained a stronger foundation on which to stand.
In the words of Matthew (a la Jesus) “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.” In the words of Julie, “and God will be with us every second of every day in every worry … one at a time and for all time.”