Several years ago, I golfed in a Thursday morning golf league with a bunch of older ladies (probably about the age I am now) and had a great time.  They were a good group with many years of life experience to share with us. Often, they made us chuckle at their witty comments which frequently held good lessons.  One morning they were talking about their inabilities to sleep as they had aged. Some expressed that they had trouble falling asleep while others said they could fall asleep but would wake up at 3:00 in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep. About that time, one of them piped up and said, “Three o’clock in the morning?  That’s when I get my best worrying in” to which we all had a good laugh.

While we all knew this was intended as a joke, in actuality it probably wasn’t.  I mostly don’t have trouble sleeping and never have, but sometimes I too wake up and worry.  It might be something trivial or it might be something major.  It is still worrying and it can cause much heartache and unneeded stress. I tell myself (and others if they express worry) to turn them over to God as is expressed in 1 Peter 5:7. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you.

Worry is one of the most difficult things to get rid of however. Why is that?  Do we think we can do better than God? Do we think we can control the future and what happens to us? Or has it just become such a habit we can’t break it?

As the scripture tells us, our Heavenly Father cares for us like we care for our own children and even more.  He cares for us whether we are worried about something minor or something significant. He longs for us to trust Him and give our cares to Him. He knows (and in our hearts we know) if we give our worries to Him a burden will be lifted off our shoulders. This is yet another way, God’s unconditional love it shown to us.  Submitting our worries to Him is an everyday surrender. Worry ends when faith in God begins. It is all about believing. Not knowing how it will happen or when, but believing deep down that it will. Thanks be to God!

Patty