Worry

This week, the democrats and republicans have been debating a bunch of stuff about the country debt, etc etc. I haven't been too worried about it or too involved, but my boss has. He is purposefully not purchasing things, waiting on lots of things, and holding his breath to see if the world falls apart on August 2nd. About a week ago, he mentioned to me his concerns and I told him I wasn't worried about it. He thought I may be crazy, and after a conversation about how I believed we would be fine, he decided I was, indeed, crazy. But while he considers transferring his money into Euro, I have faith that we will be okay.

Last night, Brent and I walked across the street to see his family. His mother had said they needed to tell us something about Becca. Instantly, worry sets in - Rebecca is Brent's 18 year old sister who has spina bifida and had total kidney failure a bit over a year ago. If they wanted to talk about Becca, it could be serious. As we were walking up the driveway, I asked if he was concerned. Brent said there was no use in getting all upset about what could be happening, or what I imagine they may tell us. It could be good news - she could be getting a kidney. You never know. Then he told me that he doesn't freak about things like I do.

Its funny to me that in some situations its so easy to remain calm and not worried about it - especially because I have no control over it. Something like the national debt is beyond me - even if I donated every penny of my paycheck and didn't feed my children or pay my bills for a year, it wouldn't even take a shot at the problem that exists. But other things, like Rebecca's health that I have equally little control over gets me upset and stressed. Both things have potential to impact me equally in different ways - but one got me worried and the other didn't.

I guess this is why Jesus says not to worry about anything. He doesn't say "don't worry about money" or "don't worry about your health" -- he said don't worry about anything. This is a tough thing to do but it puts things into perspective. Just when I thought I was doing well on the worry things, something close to me pops up and I'm flat on my back. We need to learn to trust Jesus with everything and consider everything in our prayers and supplications, not just the things that bother us. And we need to learn compassion for others in their prayers, to consider things with them and not just brush off their concerns because its not something that worries you.