"which of you, by worrying,
can add a single hour to his life?"
Matthew 6:27
Did you ever see the movie "Apollo 13"? I love that movie. I love anything non-fiction, and I love the space program. So it's one of my favorites. It's well-acted and well-directed, so it's a movie I could watch over and over again.
Just in case you don't know the facts, I'll summarize for you. In April of 1970, Apollo 13 was to land on the moon, but a couple of days into the mission, there was an explosion on board. None of the men were injured, but it was a harrowing three days while they returned to earth, as their oxygen supply was threatened. It took the efforts of the three astronauts ~ Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert ~ and of the members of NASA, to figure out how to make their supplies last, and bring their ship to a safe splashdown. It's an exciting story, because of the danger involved, but also because of the happy ending. Then men landed safely. It was a triumph of courage and intelligence for everyone involved.
Now, because it was a true story, I knew the facts before I saw the movie. I knew there was going to be a problem, and I knew they were going to live through it. But I don't know much about space travel, or spacecraft, or how they work. So anytime anything happened regarding the craft, I didn't know if that was the "problem" I was expecting. If the camera focused on a screw, I was thinking, "was that it? was that important? was that bad?" And then there'd be a scene change, and we'd be looking at a different piece of equipment, and I'd think, "is this it? is the explosion going to happen now?"
It was exhausting. And after a few instances of being worried when it wasn't necessary, I decided to just assume everything was fine and dandy, until proven otherwise. When the characters told me that what was happening was bad, then I'd worry. Until then, I'd just relax and enjoy.
I was remembering that the other day, because it was kind of a crazy day. My Amazing Boy and Awesome Girl were both gone ~ out with friends. She was going to be gone all day, and I was having to trust her (which I totally do) and the people she was with (which I mostly do). There was potential for things to go wrong, or for her to get hurt. He was gone for a shorter time, but I had no idea he and his friends would be done, so I didn't know when he'd be home. There was a parent with the boys, whom I completely trust, but being a homeschooling mom, I don't have much experience with my kids being out of my control.
But I had to relax. I had to go back home after dropping them off, and do my thing. Get stuff done around the house, make a few phone calls, send a few emails, run a few errands. All without worrying, unless I had some reason to worry. Which I didn't.
It's a good credo, isn't it? Life gives plenty of reasons to be anxious. Kids, health, money, future... But until the Director indicates I should be worried, I can relax. And let's be honest: He's never gonna indicate I should be worried... In fact, His word indicates quite the opposite more than once. Go ahead ~ look up the word "peace" in a concordance. Find all the times it's used in the Bible, and then take your pick.
And don't worry about worrying. You've got nothing to worry about.
~ "You will keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You" ~
Isaiah 26:3
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