Fretting....

Of late, there have been some situations in my life that have taken a distressing turn. I am the Queen of the Worst Case Scenario....so I have been fretting. Perhaps in another post, I will bore you with the details of my dilemma but for now, I want to post an email I wrote to an online friend who is a bit of a worrier himself and was going through some worries with his job situation. I love some of the quotes....and they probably ring true with so many of us because we are all worriers. That is probably why Jesus addressed it as many times as he did. Anyway...following is the email. If anyone is fretting about something today, I hope there is a tidbit of wisdom (none of which I am the actual author of) to lighten the load a bit. Perhaps bring a smile to a worry worn face......

Since I am a worrier, too....I thought the following two quotes were funny....and sort of what I seem to believe even though I know better:

While most of the things you've worried about have never happened, it's a different story with the things you haven't worried about. They are the ones that happen.--Ruth Rendell (Talking to Strange Men)

Don't tell me that worry doesn't do any good. I know better. The things I worry about don't happen.

But on a more serious note, He knows what will happen to you tomorrow..because he is already there and nothing takes him by surprise:


God is down in front. He is in the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that fills men with dread. God is there already. All the tomorrows of our life have to pass Him before they can get to us. Frederick Brotherton ( F. B. ) Meyer

It is in the deepest darkness of the starless midnight that men learn how to hold on to the hidden Hand most tightly and how that Hand holds them; that He sees where we do not, and knows the way He takes; and though the way be to us a roundabout way, it is the right way. Arthur Tappan (A . T ) Pierson

........and most of the things we worry about never happen anyway:

I've lived a long life and seen a lot of hard times.....
Most of which never happened--Mark Twain
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~Swedish Proverb

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine. Morris West writer

My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened. Michel de Montaigne

He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears. Inspirational sayings by Montaigne, Essays, 1588

What torments of grief you endured, from evils that never arrived. Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you. Calvin Coolidge

And the bad things, the trials, the challenges that happen to us seem to be allowed for a purpose...for our "good" anyway:

You cannot create experience. You must undergo it. Albert Camus "

One sees great things from the valley, only small things from the peak. Gilbert Keith G. K. Chesterton

You will know more of Jesus in one sanctified trial, than in wading through a library of volumes, or listening to a lifetime of sermons. Octavius Winslow

Who then can so softly bind up the wound of another as he who has felt the same wound himself." -- Thomas Jefferson

So we need to just chill out a bit:

I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about? Henry Ford

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6, 7]

And remember that God is still on his throne (as he mentioned to annie)and he is still in control and we have to try to trust him, even when he appears to be the cause....

We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them. --Charles West

Whether we like it or not

C.S. Lewis wrote, We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

And we should hope for the best:

The well of Providence is deep. It's the buckets we bring to it that are small. Mary Webb writer

But not be too hasty to act.....

Half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision.--Dean Hawkes

And appreciate the things that help us cope

We experience moments absolutely free from worry. These brief respites are called panic. --Cullen Hightower

Because afterall if we put things in perspective

From heaven even the most miserable life will look like one bad night at an inconvenient hotel. Anonymous


:)