“Nothing I can do about it now,” has become a commonly used phrase in our house and a family inside joke I am about to share with you. Terry ran over my foot ... twice, now, with a lumber cart at Home Depot. The first time it happened, Michala was home for break and the three of us laughed so hard, out of shock, we could not move. Well, they couldn't move from laughter, I couldn’t move from immobility. Terry's comment was, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now." So, it has become a running family joke. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now."
The second time it happened was back in September and Terry decided to go in a different direction and I did not have time to get out of the way before the lumber cart rolled right over my foot.
Again.
Y’all, it’s a wonder I can even walk, between the two of us. Terry felt so bad about it, but he quickly laughed and said, “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now!”
One of my biggest struggles in life, for my entire life, has been worry. I worry needlessly and senselessly over things totally out of my control. I worry about Michala and whether or not she is safe in her apartment, and if her roommates and she are safe when they are out at night. I worry about Terry and if he has too much stress on his plate. I worry about my parents and their health and well being. I worry about my entire family and our friends. But years ago I saw a sign and I bought it, “Worry Less, Pray More.”
When we were at my cardiologist appointment several weeks ago, they said all of the test results came back, great. Clearly eating healthy and working out has (mostly) paid off and it showed in every test they ran. Yet they are stumped why my blood pressure and pulse are so high. My cardiologist PA said, “You know, you have such a positive, cheery outlook, and you’re the first one to start squeezing lemons for lemonade when life hands you lemons. And while you believe everything is okay, maybe your body is telling you, “Whoa. Hang on. I’m not okay, after all.”
This seemed shocking to me, because I have truly done a better job about not worrying so much in the past few years and instead turned everything over to prayer.
Or have I?
While I will immediately turn to Papa in prayer when something is bothering me, clearly I am struggling with letting go of worry. Maybe it is still there in the back of my mind, and I just do not realize it. I need to adopt Terry’s mindset about the lumber cart over my foot, with everything else in life. “Nothing I can do about it now!” And then release whatever it is on my mind into God’s hands. Truth be told, I really do not worry as much as I used to, but I need to not worry, at all.
Another example is when we have deadlift day. I hate deadlift day. It is my least favorite workout day in the gym. However, in the long run, I know it is beneficial, and I can see the results in my back and shoulders being stronger, and my butt and quads being stronger to support my upper body. When I’m old, I know I will be grateful for lifting weights and strengthening my bones, joints and muscles. But one of the rules in the gym is, if something is too heavy and you can’t lift it, you drop it. Right then and there, you are taught to just drop the weight if it is too heavy or too cumbersome. Someone who is working out with you or your trainer will have taught you, “Just drop it!”
We need to do the same thing with worry. We know it is too heavy and there is nothing we can do about it now, so just drop it!
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” - Matthew 6:27 (NIV)
Jesus asked this question during His Sermon on the Mount. And the answer to His question is, “No.” No, we cannot add anything to our life by worrying. Well, that’s not true. We can add stress, headaches, high blood pressure, stomach aches, etc. So we need to remember the rule from the gym, “Just drop it!” Drop that heavy load of worry and adopt Terry’s phrase, “There’s nothing I can do about it now.”
Let God handle your worries.