Sweating the Small Stuff

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27 NLT)

As I wrote last week, I've been going through a difficult season lately. All around me I see death, suffering, frustration, outright spiritual warfare...it's a lot to take in at once. I'm feeling out of balance and utterly exhausted.  In short, it's been "one of those weeks". 

But our benevolent God spoke to me through my pastor's sermon on Sunday, and I was comforted. I have a love-hate relationship with the scripture selection that was read on Sunday: Matthew 6:25-34. I love it because God spoke it to me through my weekly Bible study last spring as my family was going through a very difficult financial situation. He spoke it to me again a week later when it was the subject of the Sunday school lesson I was assigned to teach that week. I've encountered it in personal prayer time. And it came up again this past weekend. Each time, I heard God's message loud and clear. But here comes the hate part: I still struggle with the application of His message. I sweat the small stuff.

I worry about the day-to-day things many people worry about: Did I remember to put eggs on the shopping list? Did I remind Todd to check the ingredient list for tree nuts before he buys cereal? Does Maddie have clean uniform shirts? Will I be able to make it to that meeting at school or church and still spend a few moments with Ava this evening?

Telling me NOT to worry will not help. But perhaps shifting my nervous energy to focus on "important worries" will: Am I raising my children in a way that honors God? Is my home a happy and healthy place? Am I paying attention to the needs of my husband, too? Focusing on these things will still not add a single moment to my life. But they might help enhance it. And that's no small stuff.