It was so good to hear and see the way that God’s word is being put into action through the testimonies of those that read our scriptures today! Whether it’s just dealing with the mundane stuff of life or actually living through the worst hurricane to hit land since 1856 – it’s good to know that God is good, we are not alone, and we can trust that whatever we are dealing with right now is not what we will be dealing with forever.
There will always be disasters, and some of the burdens we bear are just part of the life we live, but today we are reminded that we have nothing to fear and no reason to worry. Now, before I go any further, I have to say that there are times when hearing someone say that “we have nothing to fear and no reason to worry” is about the last thing that I want to hear.
It makes me think of the scene in Toy Story where Buzz Lightyear (the toy who thinks he’s an actual space ranger) tells Sheriff Woody (the toy who just realized that he has gone from favorite toy to lost toy) that it’s “no time to panic.” Woody then lists all the reasons that it is a perfect time to panic and why it is all Buzz’s fault! Hmm, come to think of it, that scene pretty much sums up Facebook and all the major news outlets!
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there is no reason to fear or to worry. In fact, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million people in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the adult population every year. Not only that, but According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder. These numbers have been rising steadily. Between 2007 and 2012, anxiety disorders in children and teens went up 20%, and I doubt that trend has reversed.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it’s certainly not to stress you out or depress you. It’s more to say that life is hard, and sometimes telling someone that they need to “buck up buttercup” doesn’t actually do any good (and might even make it worse). Not only that, but I don’t think that’s the message of scripture – particularly the passages that we have received today!
The good news is not, “Suck it up and succeed by grit and stick to-it-ive-ness!” The good news is that sometimes life is hard, and the first thing we need to do is stop trying to control all of the variables. Don’t worry about the things that you can’t control. That doesn’t mean, “Give up and don’t even try.” It means that worrying about the things that you can’t control doesn’t add a single minute to the span of life you’ve been given. In fact, it could even take a few of them away.
Now, I realize that’s easier said than done, especially when the things that are beyond our control can have such terrible consequences on our lives and those we love. I know that there are plenty of examples of this floating around, but I was struck by the confession of a friend as her child began the school year in a new school during a pandemic so I asked her if I could share her post with you.
"[My son] started at a new school, as life would have it. He’s been excited but his anxiety got the best of him today. While the work given wasn’t much, it WAS a lot for a child who struggles, whose anxiety is already off the charts, who is at a new school without anyone on his side (as far as he knows), and who has been out of school for 6 months. The hybrid schedule is also hard.
My family has been sick. I’m grateful my wonderful boss has been flexible and has allowed me to work from home for most of my time with the company. It has helped.
But today was a bad day. I lost my temper. I lost my cool. I raised my voice a few times. And I cried a lot. I’m not proud. It was my boy’s birthday. And though he generally had a great day, it was still tough.
I feel like our country is literally imploding. A part of it is LITERALLY on fire. A part of our state is devastated. And politics...I can’t.
Today was a bad day. I know tomorrow will be better. My 11-year-old is growing up in a world that is clearly spinning out of control, and our emotions resembled that today. It’s difficult to parent a child with extreme anxiety and ADHD. He’s different but such a good kid. I can’t help but worry and want the best for him."
I can’t help but worry and want the best for him. Truth be told, I usually ignore any post that is longer than one sentence, but this one struck me. It also moved me to see the way others responded. They all just tried to hold her family with words and emojis, because there wasn’t really anything else they could do. I think extending that same kind of compassion is what God’s word does for us and through us.
God never dismisses our pain. God helps us through it, bears it with us, and lets us know that there is more to life than the things we worry about. Adam Hamilton talks about this a bit in his book, Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope In Uncertain Times. In the book and the related study guide, Hamilton reminds us that, “worry generally focuses our energy and attention either on the past (‘I wish...”) or on the future (“What if...”), yet Jesus calls us into the present, the only “time” we can directly affect and use to meet with God.”
We talked a bit about that last week as well, and we acknowledged the empty space between us as a welcome space for God. We talked about sacramental living and experiencing and expressing God’s love in all of our interactions. This week we are encouraged to know that in our meetings with God – whether in the space we open between one another or in the way we share our burdens together – we find the strength to stand in all of the spaces we enter.
That meeting could even be in the comment section of a post. It could be in a phone call or a video chat. Maybe it could even happen in a postcard or a letter. Wherever and whenever it is, you’ll know it when it happens. The type of meeting I’m talking about is the kind that confirms that you aren’t alone, and sometimes that’s enough. Sometimes we just need to know that we aren’t alone.
Sometimes all we need is a little piglet in our lives to let us know that we aren’t alone. Of course, I’m talking about the Piglet who is the friend of everyone’s favorite cuddly old bear all stuffed with fluff, Winnie the Pooh!
Tons of stories and memes have been shared of these two, in fact, I don’t even know if this A.A. Milne quote is accurate. I stand by it all the same. It’s a good story. The story goes that Pooh saw Piglet coming toward him and said, "Today was a Difficult Day." There was a pause. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet. "No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."
"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.
"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.
"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."
And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
I wonder, in all the mess of this week, did you have a little Piglet who was willing to sit with you? Did you have the opportunity to sit with someone and play the part of Piglet?
I know that I had both over the last week, and I imagine there will be times to play both parts in the week ahead as well. I hope the same is true for you because it is in these moments that we come to know that worrying about the things we can’t control takes more life than it gives. Not only that, but in our moments of surrender before God we find that we are strengthened to stand, and more than that we realize that we can trust that God will always be with us – especially when the day is too difficult for words.
Next Sunday we’ll talk a little more about living with courage and hope. Until then, we have some devotional resources on our website and Facebook page that can help you continue to discern how to live without fear. We’ll also post some information for those that struggle with anxiety because we believe mental health care is important. Prayer and faith are essential tools for ordering life, and through them, God has inspired healers and therapists and scientists to help limit the suffering we might face without them.
God is yet the ground of all being and the source of our strength, in fact, we take heart in the words of the Psalmist that remind us that the crude and cruel limits of our physical existence are nothing compared to the providence of God.
In the end, it is the providence of God that strengthens us. It is the providence of God that settles our fears. It is the providence of God in the past that allows us to focus on the present moment – without worry of what is to be – so that we may be present with God in all that we see, in all that we say, and all that we do, and thanks be to God for that. Amen!
There will always be disasters, and some of the burdens we bear are just part of the life we live, but today we are reminded that we have nothing to fear and no reason to worry. Now, before I go any further, I have to say that there are times when hearing someone say that “we have nothing to fear and no reason to worry” is about the last thing that I want to hear.
It makes me think of the scene in Toy Story where Buzz Lightyear (the toy who thinks he’s an actual space ranger) tells Sheriff Woody (the toy who just realized that he has gone from favorite toy to lost toy) that it’s “no time to panic.” Woody then lists all the reasons that it is a perfect time to panic and why it is all Buzz’s fault! Hmm, come to think of it, that scene pretty much sums up Facebook and all the major news outlets!
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there is no reason to fear or to worry. In fact, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million people in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the adult population every year. Not only that, but According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder. These numbers have been rising steadily. Between 2007 and 2012, anxiety disorders in children and teens went up 20%, and I doubt that trend has reversed.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it’s certainly not to stress you out or depress you. It’s more to say that life is hard, and sometimes telling someone that they need to “buck up buttercup” doesn’t actually do any good (and might even make it worse). Not only that, but I don’t think that’s the message of scripture – particularly the passages that we have received today!
The good news is not, “Suck it up and succeed by grit and stick to-it-ive-ness!” The good news is that sometimes life is hard, and the first thing we need to do is stop trying to control all of the variables. Don’t worry about the things that you can’t control. That doesn’t mean, “Give up and don’t even try.” It means that worrying about the things that you can’t control doesn’t add a single minute to the span of life you’ve been given. In fact, it could even take a few of them away.
Now, I realize that’s easier said than done, especially when the things that are beyond our control can have such terrible consequences on our lives and those we love. I know that there are plenty of examples of this floating around, but I was struck by the confession of a friend as her child began the school year in a new school during a pandemic so I asked her if I could share her post with you.
"[My son] started at a new school, as life would have it. He’s been excited but his anxiety got the best of him today. While the work given wasn’t much, it WAS a lot for a child who struggles, whose anxiety is already off the charts, who is at a new school without anyone on his side (as far as he knows), and who has been out of school for 6 months. The hybrid schedule is also hard.
My family has been sick. I’m grateful my wonderful boss has been flexible and has allowed me to work from home for most of my time with the company. It has helped.
But today was a bad day. I lost my temper. I lost my cool. I raised my voice a few times. And I cried a lot. I’m not proud. It was my boy’s birthday. And though he generally had a great day, it was still tough.
I feel like our country is literally imploding. A part of it is LITERALLY on fire. A part of our state is devastated. And politics...I can’t.
Today was a bad day. I know tomorrow will be better. My 11-year-old is growing up in a world that is clearly spinning out of control, and our emotions resembled that today. It’s difficult to parent a child with extreme anxiety and ADHD. He’s different but such a good kid. I can’t help but worry and want the best for him."
I can’t help but worry and want the best for him. Truth be told, I usually ignore any post that is longer than one sentence, but this one struck me. It also moved me to see the way others responded. They all just tried to hold her family with words and emojis, because there wasn’t really anything else they could do. I think extending that same kind of compassion is what God’s word does for us and through us.
God never dismisses our pain. God helps us through it, bears it with us, and lets us know that there is more to life than the things we worry about. Adam Hamilton talks about this a bit in his book, Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope In Uncertain Times. In the book and the related study guide, Hamilton reminds us that, “worry generally focuses our energy and attention either on the past (‘I wish...”) or on the future (“What if...”), yet Jesus calls us into the present, the only “time” we can directly affect and use to meet with God.”
We talked a bit about that last week as well, and we acknowledged the empty space between us as a welcome space for God. We talked about sacramental living and experiencing and expressing God’s love in all of our interactions. This week we are encouraged to know that in our meetings with God – whether in the space we open between one another or in the way we share our burdens together – we find the strength to stand in all of the spaces we enter.
That meeting could even be in the comment section of a post. It could be in a phone call or a video chat. Maybe it could even happen in a postcard or a letter. Wherever and whenever it is, you’ll know it when it happens. The type of meeting I’m talking about is the kind that confirms that you aren’t alone, and sometimes that’s enough. Sometimes we just need to know that we aren’t alone.
Sometimes all we need is a little piglet in our lives to let us know that we aren’t alone. Of course, I’m talking about the Piglet who is the friend of everyone’s favorite cuddly old bear all stuffed with fluff, Winnie the Pooh!
Tons of stories and memes have been shared of these two, in fact, I don’t even know if this A.A. Milne quote is accurate. I stand by it all the same. It’s a good story. The story goes that Pooh saw Piglet coming toward him and said, "Today was a Difficult Day." There was a pause. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet. "No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."
"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.
"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.
"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."
And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
I wonder, in all the mess of this week, did you have a little Piglet who was willing to sit with you? Did you have the opportunity to sit with someone and play the part of Piglet?
I know that I had both over the last week, and I imagine there will be times to play both parts in the week ahead as well. I hope the same is true for you because it is in these moments that we come to know that worrying about the things we can’t control takes more life than it gives. Not only that, but in our moments of surrender before God we find that we are strengthened to stand, and more than that we realize that we can trust that God will always be with us – especially when the day is too difficult for words.
Next Sunday we’ll talk a little more about living with courage and hope. Until then, we have some devotional resources on our website and Facebook page that can help you continue to discern how to live without fear. We’ll also post some information for those that struggle with anxiety because we believe mental health care is important. Prayer and faith are essential tools for ordering life, and through them, God has inspired healers and therapists and scientists to help limit the suffering we might face without them.
God is yet the ground of all being and the source of our strength, in fact, we take heart in the words of the Psalmist that remind us that the crude and cruel limits of our physical existence are nothing compared to the providence of God.
In the end, it is the providence of God that strengthens us. It is the providence of God that settles our fears. It is the providence of God in the past that allows us to focus on the present moment – without worry of what is to be – so that we may be present with God in all that we see, in all that we say, and all that we do, and thanks be to God for that. Amen!
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