“I'm Glad I Spent So Much of My Time Worrying” ~ said no one ever

I worried about getting into grad school.

I worried about finding a job.

I worried that I’d never get married.

I worried that fertility drops after 35.

Soooooooo much worrying!

And then . . .

I got into grad school.

And I found a job.

(See, when I worry, things work out!)

And then someone proposed. But he wasn’t the right one. So I called off the wedding.

(Wait, that’s not how it’s supposed to go! I thought we had an understanding! I worry and things work out. That’s the arrangement!)

And then . . .

I was 35 and single. And my bf was a waiter and wasn’t anywhere near asking me to marry him.

So much for having kids before 35 . . .

(Hey worrying! You’re messing things up again. You’re NOT getting the job done! You’re NOT working!)

Of course worrying wasn’t working. Because it NEVER works! All it does is stress us out and steal our joy.

So finally, I decided that’s not how I wanted to spend my life! And I learned that I can hang onto my joy and minimize stress by acknowledging the choices I make regarding my thoughts.

I can choose to worry. Or choose not to.

And here’s the other thing I’ve learned:

MANY things I worried about NEVER happened anyway!

And MANY things I worried about DID happen.

BUT—those things I so desperately feared weren’t actually all that scary once I encountered them.

And those things I thought I HAD to have in order to be happy? Well, I learned that happiness is a choice and I could choose happiness—with or without those things.

So the point is . . .

If I could get back all the time I wasted worrying, I definitely would.

I’d spend that time doing something TRULY productive—being present in the given moment, trusting that God had my back and that my life would play out exactly as it’s supposed to at exactly the right time.

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Photo credit:  Saskia Nelson, Hey Saturday