The pastor of the church I attend the shared the quote in the title one time and it has always stuck with me. I know after thirteen years of being the director of a not-for-profit mental health center, in leadership, there are plenty of things to keep your eye on.  Being aware of what is wrong or what could go wrong is part of the job. Thinking about those things can easily become an exercise in ruminating about the worst possible outcome.

I am not, by nature, a worrier, but there are times when a worry gets lodged in my mind and I can’t get rid of it. It just grows and grows, eventually stifling and suffocating my thoughts with its pervasiveness and robbing me of joy. I had that experience this weekend. It started on Friday.

1. My Friday had been made up of  back to back intense meetings. 
2. I had a conversation around noon that led me to begin to perseverate on doom and gloom. My mind was just starting the process of ruminating on bad things happening.
3. Around 3:15 pm, after a non-stop schedule, my brain needed a quick break.  About that time I read a message from a local faith based group. It was part of a verse from the prophet Isaiah, “I  have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and rescue you.” 
4. My spirit immediately connected to the reassuring words. It was the kind of expedience in which you sense the Maker-of-all-things heard your struggle and sent a gentle reminder to encourage you. 
5. Over the next 44 hours the message of doom and gloom peddled hard for supremacy in my head. I recognized it and tried hard to replace it with the words from Isaiah I had been comforted with on Friday,  “I  have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and rescue you.”
6. I continued to work at replacing the fatalistic thoughts with the encouraging phrase I had been given. When your mind is in this struggle you have to be persistent about reframing the negativity. It takes focus. On Sunday around noon a new perspective broke through. It cleared the path for problem solving and relaxation.
7. I have not gone back to the doom and gloom thoughts. They have tried to come back but I focus on the truth of that phrase from Friday.

Sometimes I get asked to speak to a group about how to cope with stress. I tell them that for me it is not easy. My job is so stressful I have to take three kinds of medication in order to manage. When I say that, people get a worried look on their face. They relax though when I tell the medications are exercise, journaling, and prayer-meditation. It’s the third one that helped me get through this last bout of worry and fear. 

If you are a worrier remember, if you know how to worry you know how to meditate. You can find truthful words to meditate on by reading classic literature, Scripture, or poetry.  It is about putting good things into your head and focusing on them when worry wants to take over. Also remember, the Maker-of-all-things is here to help you and remind you that you are not in this alone.