"Worry...is it choking the life out of you?" Part Two...Sleepless nights no more.

Do you spend nights on end...sleepless nights…worrying?  I think that most of us at one point or another experience the burden of seemingly unending anxiety, apprehension, worry, and sleepless nights.

We tend to lose sleep over things such as the following:

• Our finances...not enough money at the end of the paycheck. "...okay, all the bills are paid but now there is no money for groceries! What are we going to eat?"
• Our health...my husband's blood pressure; my son's disability and trying to prevent another migraine because, for him, any migraine could lead to another stroke or worse; my daughter's pregnancy and constant nausea now with gall bladder troubles thrown into the mix; my own neck and back woes.
• Family troubles...our children's future; extended family woes such as aging and health concerns, and more.
• Job...will I ever be able to bring in any income with my writing; will the next paycheck come on time; God has moved us many times through the years...how long will we be in our present ministry?
• ___________Fill in the blank...ad nauseum...we could just about make any issue we face in life an issue to worry over couldn't we?

Why do we worry so?  I blame the FALL...you know...back in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve took that first bite off the forbidden fruit.  I basically blame all of our woes, all of mankind's woes on the Fall.  That's where mankind tried to put self before God.  Where he didn't just take God at His word but thought he knew better and took things into his own hands.   We continue to do that today don't we?  We think by worrying that we can add something to our lives.  We think that if we worry  we are doing something about the problem.

If you look at a list of synonyms, which contains the word 'worry', this is what you get:

 tease, harry, hector, badger, disquiet. Worry, annoy, harass all mean to disturb or              interfere with someone's comfort or peace of mind.

...and there it is...
Worry disturbs our peace of mind, interferes with our comfort,  and precipitates endless nights of little to no sleep.  It eats away at us but it does not actually accomplish anything!

In part one of this series on worry I shared with you many ways in which God showed up and supplied for my many needs. One would think after just a few such miraculous shows of provision that I would just leave worry behind. But as I moved into the next stage of my life...young and married with kids ...I began to worry again. In fact I worried so much that I would take at least two to three hours each night as I lay my head on my pillow to quiet my anxious thoughts enough to finally nod off to sleep. This went on for years. It's a wonder I did not develop an ulcer as my mother had throughout her years of worrying over our family.

Then one day it happened... I don't remember the exact day or hour...I just realized that God was enough. He loved me, knew my needs, and promised in His word that if I put 'first things' first...to seek first the kingdom, then I wouldn't have to be overwhelmed by the pressures of life. So I made a decision to trust God and not worry and from that day forward I was able to lay my concerns at the feet of Jesus in my prayers and lay my head down at night...and simply sleep.

It's true...sounds  a bit Pollyannaish I know, but I can promise you that it is possible to stop losing sleep from worrying.

 I would love it if you could come back and read my next post. I've realized this worry issue is so universal that it can't just be handled in only two posts. I shared a very real and personal list at the beginning of this post. A list of things that I could let get between myself and my trust in God's provision...things that could begin again the endless nights of worry if I let them.   I would like to share with you how you can replace the word 'worry' with the word 'trust'...but that will have to wait for the next part in this series. ;-)

So how are you doing?  What thoughts run through your head in those wee hours of the night just before you drift off to sleep?

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34