A neighbor posted a picture of a canvas car cover on our Facebook community page, complete with metal poles. The cover greeted them in their backyard one winter morning. When our Pacific Northwest weather delivers a howling windstorm, our windows shiver, and neighbors receive items in their backyards from other neighbors. On our deck, the patio umbrella, although closed and secured with a cord before the storm, looked as if it had gone through a giant shredding machine.
No wonder I awoke several times during that night filled with concerns. I can’t help it; I’m just a worry-wort. Perhaps we’ve all been at some point. I can’t be the only one who pictures the what-ifs, which tend to be negative. Imagined storm winds build in my mind and deliver unexpected outcomes and unwanted results, and my heart feels shredded.
I came up short when I noticed that Jesus put “worries of this life” in the same sentence with carousing and drunkenness, which lead to dullness of heart. “Does my worrying lead to dullness of heart?” I asked myself. If it clouds out the light that Jesus offers, then, yes, it does. So those of us who worry and fret about what is going on around us are not any different than the wild partygoers. The result is the same.
The solution to worry is opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit and the light and comfort He delivers, even in the storms. Ask God to help you watch out for the fretting that dulls your motivation and purpose—the distractions that keep you from what God has called you to do. He can make your dullness bright.
Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to two of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, facilitating a small women’s group at church, and mentoring a few friends who also desire to write.