When to worry

It's funny how the "worries" of our life quickly escalate into mammoth concerns, when in actuality they're not that big of deal. Perhaps this is a good thing because it means you live a relatively worry-free life, or perhaps it means you've lost perspective with what truly matters at the end of the day. I go back and forth personally.

Two years ago my world was really difficult. My mom had just gotten out of a the hospital from a stem cell transplant. She was weak, sick, thin, battling cancer, and tired. Our whole family was tired and stressed. We spent a lot of time in the hospital and a lot of time crying, praying, and leaning on God. I definitely kept my list of worries pretty short: Mom and Sister. The things I didn't worry about were friends, boys, jobs, etc.

Now I find myself in a world that shouldn't have any worries and yet I still worry. My mom is healthy and her cancer is still in remission...my sister's MS is still responding well to medication. And yet I worry (not daily or anything, but they are things I think about way too much). I worry about being single forever. I worry about fitting into my swimsuit this summer. I worry about finding a job that is better fit for my personality. I worry that I don't pour enough into my female friendships. Don't get me wrong, I'm not losing sleep over ANY of this stuff, but my mind wanders in that direction. I think we're all entitled to worry over those little things in life if we still keep in mind that we could be worrying over a lot more. I don't ever want to forget the heartache I've been through in life. It's shaped my soul forever and transformed me into a woman of leadership, obedience, and reliance on the Lord. But I don't want to give too much weight to stressing over my thighs or lack of dating life. For those things don't really matter in the greater scheme of life.

The things I want to worry about and lay before God are things that truly affect other's. Here's a list of things I should spend time in prayer over and not stress about MY world:

• My good friend's friend has a bad cancer. We don't know if she'll beat it.
• My friend's sister in law just had a miscarriage this weekend.
• My dear friend has had three miscarriages in the last year. They deserve a healthy child.
• My sister's MS is a daily battle.
• My friend's mom still struggles daily with side affects from her chemo. This has gone on for a year.

Those are the thoughts I want to fill my head when I find myself dwelling on the petty stuff. There are people that NEED prayer and NEED to know I'm praying for them. Their worries mean something to me.