Worry, Day 27 of the Self-Love Detox Challenge

                                  

Good morning sweetpea's,

Today we continue our self-love journey & this post is focusing on something that robs us of far too much joy and peace. 

We can take better care of ourselves by honing in on a few fear off shoots; like worry. 

Worry is a big hurdle for many of us, myself included. It creeps in, takes up residence in uninvited places, and slowly takes over too many aspects of our lives. If there is one message God could get across to you today, as you read this, is that YOU DO NOT need to worry. 

How is that you're asking? 

Easier said than done right? 

Sure, but my worries, concerns, fears, are very real and valid; aren't they?

Are they?

No, wait. 

Hear that last question.

Are all of those things you are worrying about real or valid?

There are three sides to that coin, (I know coins are 2 sided, just go with it) before you answer, let us explore.

Firstly, is the fear real and can what we imagine really come to being?

A study done by psychologist's found that 85% of the things we spend time fretting/worrying about, NEVER occur.

Read that last part again please. 

They also found that 15% of the things people worried or feared, when they experienced them they were not as bad as they thought they would be; and they also said they learned valuable lessons from the experiences. 

                                       

This brings us to the second side of the worry/fear coin.

In all the time you spent worrying & giving time to your fear(s), how productive and problem solving was it? 

Did you accomplish what you hoped?

Did the outcome change or happen at all? And if it did come to pass, were you left still standing and full of blessed life?

When I think back on all the wasted hours, lost days, health, and energy because I have allowed worry to rob me; I feel very embarrassed, somewhat foolish, and awash in righteous indignation. 

In those moments I gave the enemy complete access and control, which allowed him to play and wreak havoc on far too many aspects of my life. The repercussions have had a very real impact. 

                                              

                                            

This brings me to the third side of that coin. Why am I, why are we, not trusting God? 

                      

I know that we all have concerns, that life is hard and can be great at knocking our confidence and hope for a loop. We have been guilty at one time or another of giving way too much of our personal power away to fear and we suffer in painful and depleting ways for it. 

                                           

I am going to let a bit of my inner geek shine for a moment but it is to illustrate a good point. Many years ago I watched an episode on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where everybody was freaking out and all of their fears were coming to life, coming after them, and wreaking havoc on their lives. At the end they finally find the big bad fear demon, only to discover that he is all of a few inches tall, throwing his mini arms up and repeating, "Fear me! Fear me!"

Buffy then replies, "Yeah, yeah." and squishes him under her shoe.

It is fantasy made for entertainment purposes, however, it illustrates a good point. 

How many times do we allow a small fear to blow up into something huge and then it takes over? 

Facing fear(s) is a process, and I have my own personal battles, so I am by no means judging you for your fears. I am here addressing something that I hope will bring about a different way of viewing and responding to fear; one day you might even be able to overcome it and jump it clear as any hurdle can and should be. I always liked that Baz Luhrmann song that says, know that worrying is as effective as chewing bubble gum to solve an algebraic equation. 

Puts it in perspective doesn't it? 

I am leaving you with some positive God love and a prayer to aid us all on our quest to be less fearful, trusting God more, and to feel empowered. Abba bless you!