"Oh my goodness; Oh my goodness" – If you have seen the musical "Annie," you would recognize this quote. As Annie would begin to look like she was getting into trouble, one of the worried little orphan girls would chime in with those words. I remember laughing every time because it was said with such exaggeration. Of course, it was not funny to her; she couldn't conceive what was going to happen next. Worry can consume our minds to the point we have no choice in how we feel – so we think.
A couple of weeks ago, I was checking in my suitcase at the airport and they told me it was thirteen pounds over the weight limit. If I let them take it as it was, it would cost me $75! "Oh my goodness; Oh my goodness!" Well, I was not going to pay so, I began to frantically take out items and stuff them in our carry-ons. Can you imagine watching a lady in the airport open up her suitcase exposing (for all in line to see) her personals; taking them out and stuffing them in her purse and such? It probably looked quite funny, but not from my perspective. Not only was I thinking about how stupid it was to try to stuff everyone's things in one suitcase in the first place, but was I going to be able to accomplish the task of making the suitcase the proper weight limit AND make the plane in time? I was worried, to say the least! I don't even think I stopped to say a prayer immediately. I bet if I did, I would not have carried on the extreme anxious feeling that I had for as long as I did. After I was headed to the gate with all my back-breaking carry-ons, I had a choice to make. Would I continue to let this anxiousness overtake my mind throughout my travels that day, or would I stop to pray and let it go to the Lord? Once I took the choice to let it go, I immediately received God's peace. He guarded my mind the rest of the day even though I had to keep carrying those heavy bags as a reminder.
God says, "Don't worry about anything." It is understandable to stop and pray when we are desperate, but how about when we think we are in control. Often, when we don't take the moment to pray over the little interruptions of life and try to handle them on our own, our ways can lead down miserable paths. We can miss the blessings God has for us. In that moment when I was worried how things would work out in the airport that day, I didn't know that we would find a carry-on suitcase at a Salvation Army store on our trip for $12! We weren't even there to look for one. God is good!
When you find yourself quoting the words from the worried little orphan girl, "Oh my goodness; Oh my goodness," what are you going to choose: feeling miserable or peace? It's your choice. I strongly recommend choosing God! Stop; pray about what your worried about; thank God for His good plan; and trust Him!
" Gracious Lord, thank you for your peace that surpasses all my thoughts. I let go of my little worries of life to you. Help me to choose to stop and pray before I try to take control."
© Carol Outhous Jones 2014
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