Susan Writes

            While on a retreat with church women, I heard two helpful quotes during our Sunday morning devotion.  Love and trust are the solvents for worry and fret. Count your blessings.

Women are twice as likely as men to worry and feel anxious, but men worry too. We sometimes allow worry to take control of our daily lives although we know worry never solved anything.  

            Worry takes the mind to the worst of what might happen.  According to webmd.com, it can affect daily life and interferes with appetite, relationships, sleep and job performance.  Chronic worry affects physical health – most common are headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, high blood pressure, and heart disease.   

            In my research, I didn’t find one positive result of worrying.

            Since this topic sprang from a church retreat, we turned to scripture. Philippians 4:6 reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your request to God.”   Jesus is quoted in Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”

            Other scripture tells us to trust and have faith and be thankful in all circumstances.  Many of us struggle with how to move from worry to trust to thanksgiving to counting blessings.

            A few years ago, I read two books written by Ann Voscamp: One Thousand Gifts and 1000 Gifts Devotional.  Voscamp admits to being a worrier.  While complaining to friends, one challenged her to make a list of gifts.  Could she number blessings from God? Gifts she already had. Everyday gifts. During a conversation among good friends, Voscamp was challenged to make a list of 1000 gifts. 

            The beginning of her list included morning shadows across the old floors, mail in the mailbox, wool sweaters with turtle neck collars.   Eventually, she listed 1000 gifts and more. 

            I took the challenge.  First on my list are names – Husband, Children, Grands, Friends.  Through the years, I’ve counted cardinals at the birdfeeder, sunshine and shadows, a warm house, my Grand sitting on my lap, putting together a jigsaw puzzle with Husband, cherry ice cream, having good parents, daffodils.

            From One Thousand Gifts, I copied these words: You can feel only one emotion at a time.  I must feel hope, thankful, glad, happy, and kind.  So if I worry, I can’t feel hopeful and thankful and can’t count blessings. 

            Did anyone else grow up singing Count Your Blessings at church? I played the piano for Sunday morning services when I was in high school, and it wasn’t easy to keep up with our song leader, Willy, who sang in triple time, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your blessings; see what God hath done.”

            Worry doesn’t evaporate when counting blessings, but worry slowly dissolves.             The newspaper editor might print this on the weekend religion page – that’s okay.  I promised myself to always write about where we are and counting blessing is where I am.

Filed under: Inspirational, Quotes | Tagged: count blessings, dont'worry |