Don’t Worry, Be Happy

It’s been a rough year. My work-life balance went from amazing to untenable. This led to strained personal relationships and serious financial burdens. I have always lived my life with the mindset, “Everything happens for a reason.” I don’t allow myself to wallow in negativity because, even without acknowledging it is in God’s hands, I know there is a purpose for every problem, trial and tribulation.

This overall mindset has helped me to have an incredibly positive outlook on life, and for that, I am grateful. One of my kids is the typical, glass half-empty pessimist. I hate that for her. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live with such a negative mindset. But of course, with my persistent positivity, I always remind her, “At least when you expect the worst, things usually turn out better than expected!”

This angst-driven negativity has become pervasive in our society. Anxiety, which has always been an issue, seems to have exploded to the forefront of our culture, especially since COVID. For our younger generations, it feels like the ones NOT being treated for anxiety are the minority. How did we get here?

This verse tells us everything we need to know:

• Don’t worry.
• Pray.
• Tell God your needs.
• Thank him for his blessings.
• Experience peace.

I carry stress in my shoulders. It almost never bothers me, but a couple of months ago, the pain became almost unbearable. I tried medicine, heat, and every type of home massager you can think of. For my birthday, I even got my wish – a gift card for a massage. But I didn’t have time to actually use it. I was struggling and almost in tears daily. That was a very difficult place to be as a persistently positive person.

One evening, I was reading Romans 8. Paul says, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

Mic drop. 🎤

In that moment, I imagined the torture and suffering Jesus endured. If he can go through all of that, surely I can suck up a stiff neck. I knew I couldn’t allow something so minor in the grand scheme of things to have such an impact on my daily life.

So I stopped worrying about it. I prayed. To asked God that if was His will, to easy my suffering. I thanked him for his faithfulness in my life. And I went to bed.

When I woke up in the morning, the pain was gone.

Now to be clear, my neck muscles are still tight. But the pain disappeared. It was replaced by God’s peace. Praise God!

Philippians 4:6-7 is like a checklist for us all. Positive or negative, worrywart or Polyanna…even if you’ve never had a relationship with the Lord and don’t know where to start, this provides a simple way to take the problems from your heart and turn them over to God. Once you release your problems to God, He will release you from the burdens….in His perfect way and His perfect time.