I’m a worrier. I’ve heard the statistic that something like 90% of what we worry about never happens. But, rather than being reassured by this fact, I worry that what I’m worrying about might be in the category of the 10% that does happen. I can worry about almost anything–from the state of the local real estate market to the safety of the food we eat (or the milk we drink). And, if left to my own devices, or worse yet, if allowed to watch the national news or read too many blogs, I can contort my mind into an extensive library of frets and fears.
I know that, in a sense, to worry is very natural. Most all of us worry, at least occasionally, about our health and our finances and our futures. As mothers, of course, we worry about our children. And, we feel quite justified in doing so. After all, if we don’t worry about our own bodies and our own families and our own affairs, who will?
But, seriously, worry is a problem. Worse yet, I think we’re bluntly told not to do it.
I don’t think God is calling us to shut our brains down and move toward some mindless state of existence. He created us with a tremendous capacity to think. But, maybe He is asking us to replace our natural tendency to worry with other mindful activities… things like prayer… praise… and pondering. None of these activities come as naturally, but instead of leading to anxiety, they lead to peace.
I know something of what it is to pray and to praise, but I’ve never really thought about what it means to ponder…
While the definition of “worry” has a very negative connotation, the definition of “ponder” is much more encouraging. And, better still, we’re given permission to ponder away…
Pondering is still thinking, but it’s directed thinking. In the same way that Dave Ramsey says,”You have to tell your money where to go,” we have to tell our minds what to think about. And, just like redirecting our money is hard, redirecting our minds is difficult, too. It requires a lot of that dreaded word… discipline.
So, I need to work on this. It’s not going to happen on its own. If I want to become less of a worrier and more of a ponderer, I have to free up some room in my mind for God to work. And, I have to believe, really believe, that the Spirit can and will displace all the worry that clouds my mind with thoughts more worthy of my time and energy… thoughts that, in time, are shaped more like prayers and praises and ponderings.
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