“Be Anxious For Nothing”
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Phil. 4:4-8
I love these powerful words and to the best of my ability I stand on them–until I don’t–which happened this week. It was quite a challenge getting an appointment for my first Covid vaccination. The website calendar was a mess. My birth year was listed as 1954!! The dates and days did not correspond so I couldn’t book an appointment.
I fidgeted for a day or so, contacted my doctor’s assistant for help, and she responded with a plea for patience since a solution was in process.
I took a deep breath, turned it over to God, and tried again a day later. Voila! I got an early morning appointment at the drive-thru near my home. It is now behind me. In fact, Sutter Health rocked. Everything was well organized–like an outdoor concert. All paperwork was in order and the personnel were extremely cordial and professional. Plenty of spaces for cars, etc. I have a sore arm but other than that all is well and I’m scheduled for vaccination #2 on February 24. Praise God, as always. When I calm down and trust, my life works and I sleep a lot better too.
But how fast I forget. I bought a new computer this week and hired a tech pro to transfer all my files from the old laptop, but then found my security application had been overlooked so I attempted to make the change on my own, following instructions online. I goofed up somehow. I’ll skip the details. I worried all night about how to avoid double billing until this morning when I called the Live Chat line and a nice young man assured me of what I could do at my end and what he could do at his end! Problem fixed. Breathe, meditate, thank God, promise not to ‘go there’ (to anxiety) again.
But I probably will–because I’m a human being. I’m getting better at turning things over, but the waiting for the solution or the advice of what action to take requires trust and time. Oh Lord, forgive my shortcomings.
He assured me he has! 😊
How are you doing with the worries in your life? Let’s uphold one another.
You are so great, Karen. What humbling experiences these both were. I have such a hard time with the “not knowing everything because I just should, right?” No. As you said, “Breathe, meditate, thank God, promise not to ‘go there’ (to anxiety) again” Problem is, I know I will. But the best news is that I know I am forgiven and can start anew again! Thank you always, for your honesty in all of your experiences. I hear God’s voice through you constantly.
What a lovely response. I appreciate your friendship and your experience and wisdom, as well.
Oh Karen…can I ever relate. In general I’m pretty laid back. Well until I am exposed to the unknown.
Then it’s much ado about nothing.
I do need to refer often to the scripture Phil: 4;4-8. Wonder if I
could tatoo it on my forhead.
So often it is much ado about nothing.
Faith and trust that the good Lord has my best interests at heart and take that to heart.
Thank you again for such a timely blog.
Thanks for your warm thoughts and experiences, Joan. It seems we all have our worries but God is with us.
Dear Karen, Your scripture brought back wonderful memories for me as verse 8 was the Motto of Lambuth College, which was the college I attended for almost three years. Those words had a great impact on my life and still do. Thank you so much for this writing and believe me you are not the only one who falls back occasionally and worries some, but because we know GOD and we also know when we follow His directions we will be okay. Thanks so much and I am glad you got your vaccine. Love to you, Mmargaret
FYI
Lambuth was a small Methodist college in Jackson, Tennessee. It is no longer in operation.
Thanks, Margaret. So nice to hear about your association with Lambuth College and the verse I included. Happy memories, I’m sure.
Oh, I’d say I handle worry pretty good…I’m down to only every other day! Sigh.
But, I’m trying a more grateful and positive approach this year and, so far, it’s helping on the more worrisome days.
Thanks for sharing Karen!
Smiles, BRC
So good to hear, Beth. Thanks for sharing.
Great post, Karen. We so need to turn our concerns over to our Father right away. So often I hold onto mine until I’m desperate, when He is so willing to help. I appreciate your sharing your experiences in this last week, and God led you to the right answers. And I’m glad you got your first vaccine!
Thank you for this great reminder.
Thanks, Carol. I’m moving forward as we all are in our own way.
That’s way too funny, Karen! It’s amazing the things that “get” to us, and I’m just as guilty as you :). But the Word of God is always there for us….
Thanks for dropping by, Simon. So great to hear from you. Hope you and Trish are well.