The Rocking Chair of Worry

You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. ~Walter Hagen

Have you ever worried about something until you were nearly sick? The Bible warns us that worrying is useless and shows lack of faith. As true as that is, I also know that most all of us do some worrying at times. Our teenage son is late getting home — we worry. Our daughter is having a baby — we worry. We get an unexpected bill we aren’t sure we’ll be able to pay — we worry.

We are supposed to turn our worries into prayers, and I try to do that. I’m sure you do too. But I have to admit sometimes I keep yanking those worries back, saying, “Wait a minute, Lord. I’m not quite through with that yet.” As if just sitting and stewing and worrying can change a thing. Now prayer, that can change things.

Some time ago, after I finished my novel, Angel Sister,  I spent a couple of months doing some stewing and worrying. I sometimes say that book is the story of my heart since it has so many of my mother’s memories of growing up in the 1930’s threaded into the background and the setting.

Anyway, after I wrote those magical words “the end” and then did all that necessary editing, I sent it off to my editor at that time. Lonnie was the greatest, and I was so blessed to work with her on so many of my books. However, I did learn that sometimes, because she was so busy, she did take a while to get around to responding about a book. But at the time I wrote Angel Sister, I was still fairly new working with her. And you have to remember that I was really excited about sending her this particular book since I had such high hopes for my Rosey Corner people.

I waited and waited and waited for news. Good news, I desperately hoped, since I loved the story so much. But the weeks with no news dragged on. At that time, it had been my experience with previous editors that good news came relatively quickly and bad news dragged along slower. That was prior to everything being sent digitally. I actually mailed in a copy of the typewritten manuscript instead of hitting send on my computer. Lonnie actually liked reading a physical copy. Mailing it did add extra days to the process, but I figured that in before I began to worry.

But time passed. Plenty of time, I thought. I was positive I should have heard already. I began to worry that the editor didn’t like the book. I worried it wasn’t a good story. That I hadn’t done a good job. All that worrying messed up my head until I struggled to get going on my new idea. Then I finally talked on the phone to Lonnie, and she hadn’t even read the book!! She’d been extra busy and had sat on it. She was calling me for a totally unrelated matter. I’d been sick with worry for all the wrong reasons.

That’s not to say it was good that she hadn’t made time to read my book. It was good that she did read it soon after that call and loved the story. I was happy. She was happy. But the fact was that I spent time worrying about the wrong things. I was worrying that she’d read the story and hated it. I worried I was going to see a rejection for this book I loved. I worried I’d not be able to write another book that she or any editor would like. None of those worries came to pass.

That’s usually the way of it. We worry that this or that will happen. Then something altogether different happens. All our worrying has done is give us get gray hairs and frown wrinkles. Praying is much better. I’ve tried to remember that whenever I have to wait for writing news or when any worry comes poking at me. Pray. Pray. Pray. Not worry, worry, worry.

I believe in prayer. I truly do, but sometimes I don’t act very much as if I do. And then I have to pray for forgiveness and start over at square one. Aren’t you glad the Lord is so forgiving? That He gives us another chance and another chance and another chance if we ask for it.

Well, that’s my sermon of the week. Keep in mind what Erma Bombeck said about worrying. “Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.”

Are you good at turning your worries into prayers?

Hope you have a blessed week ahead. And no reason to worry.