day by day

What if baby girl won't stop crying no matter what I do?
Will I have enough patience and grace?
Will I have enough love to cover over a multitude of sins?
How can I avoid scarring my children the ways I was scarred?
What if my baby chokes while she's learning to eat? Will I know what to do?
What if she hates me?
How do you teach a kid calculus when you never took calculus?
How can I help her be wise about romantic relationships?
What if we never get the types of jobs that come with 401k benefits?
Will we have enough money saved for retirement when we're too old to work?
When we outgrow this apartment, will we have enough money saved to buy a house?

If worrying actually solved problems, I'd have no problems.

These are only a few of the things I worry about pretty often. And, since I stink at procrastination, I do what I can to start preparing for them NOW. I have my mother to thank for that personality trait, I think.

Having a baby changes things.
I am not a fan of change.
It also adds a lot of responsibility - overwhelming responsibilities that don't seem possible to fulfill when I look at everything I need to do in the next 20 years.

"You need not fear the future, for I am already there... Your future is in my hands; I release it to you day by day, moment by moment. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow." 

That was a paraphrase from Matthew 6:4 that I read in my devotional book the other day (Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young). What a perfect reminder to take a deep breath and stop thinking about my life-long to-do list. God knows the future. And He only gives us one day to handle at a time.

Something that was so calming, so free-ing about life in Chile was that I was able to release all of that worry and just go with the flow. I couldn't control things, couldn't plan. This catch phrase from one of the sermons at my church there summed up what God was teaching me at the time: Dios ya sabe [translation: God already knows]. He sees what's coming and he has my best interest in mind, therefore I need to relax and just follow Him.

What I did in Chile.
Of course it's not hard to stop worrying when all you do is sit on the beach with your guitar all day!

What do you worry about that you need to let go of?