Managing Worry and Anxiety
Dear Cathedral,
Listen to these words of Jesus
“…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” ~ Matthew 6:25-27
How do we manage our worry and anxiety in this time when the coronavirus is spreading across the planet? I think it is time for us to understand the difference between being alert and careful and being worried. A person worried about things that they cannot control spends time and precious energy ruminating and massaging the same unsolvable problems and unanswerable questions. Will I get sick? What will happen to the financial markets? The virus is not something that we can control, and incessant worry only makes us vulnerable to getting sick and distracts us from seeking God’s will.
Jesus tells us not to worry, that God will take care of us. But that doesn’t mean that we should not be careful. So, ask yourself, “What is within my control? How can I do my part to stop the spreading of this virus and to help those in need?” There are things you can do such as washing your hands, saying your prayers, and staying home if you feel sick. Once you have done these things, put the worry behind you. Let coronavirus be something that you take very seriously, but don’t worry about it. It is possible to do just that, to be a person of care and caution and of great peace.
We continue to watch and pray, and to have hand-sanitizer all around the church! And we continue to pray, knowing that, in the end, God will take care of all of us.
In Christ’s love,
Kate+
Tags: News