Anxiety

Anxiety

I must have been born anxious. Why do I think that? Well, I was born during the Second World War. Shortly after my birth, my father graduated from medical school, enlisted in the Army and was sent to the South Pacific. During this time my mother and grandparents raised me. If that wasn’t enough I was the first born and you know what that means.

Like most of us I don’t remember a lot about my early childhood but from what people told me I was precocious in nature and in desperate need of discipline. In grade school I was the class clown. That may sound innocent enough but I often strayed across the line and eventually got kicked out of one grade school; not exactly a sterling example of a disciplined life.

It wasn’t until I had a goal for my life that I started to worry. In seminary the pressure was on to make the grade. Studying never came easy for me. I was too busy making friends and goofing off. Once those hands were laid on me and I was ordained a priest, the anxiety really kicked in. Serving the Lord by trying to measure up is enough to make anyone anxious.

The dictionary defines anxiety as “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear; a nervousness about what might happen.” That was me! I never thought of myself as fearful but my sense of having to measure up to other people’s expectations was a recipe for disaster.  

Life began to take a different path when I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I know that sounds religious but the truth is that He is the one who is teaching me that I don’t have to measure up and He loves me just as I am.

The Bible says: “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers. Letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Amen.