Are You a Worry Wart?

The growth on my face was expanding and my dermatologist appointment was still a few weeks away. This bump was downright ugly and it was getting increasingly difficult to cover it with my hair. It also didn’t look like any other benign growth that had appeared on my fair skin. I tried to not worry, but then worry seeped into my soul.

Being over-analytical, I researched skin diseases and their photos. Wow. This looks a lot like a Basil Cell Carcinoma. I tried to dismiss the thought but I braced myself for the “C” word.

What if it is Cancer?

What is the treatment?

Don’t think about that Lisa. You still don’t know.

Do you worry about things before they happen?

According to “The Word Detective,” when the word “worry” first appeared in Old English as “wrygan,” it didn’t mean “to fret.” The definition was “to strangle.”

Worry strangles us.

It can affect our breathing.

It makes us anxious.

It consumes our thoughts.

And it can rub off on others if we are a “worry wart.”

The term “worry wart originated in 1956, from the comic strip “Out Our Way” by U.S. cartoonist J.R. Williams (1888-1957). “Worry Wart” was the name of a character who caused others to worry.

When we express our worries, they are contagious. As Christians, we need to stop the worrying because it leads to anxiety in us, and others.

The Apostle Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in ever situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Our witness to others should be peace in the midst of storms, not worry and anxiousness.

I finally had to turn my worry over to God. I prayed for the growth to be benign, and if it wasn’t, that I would be able to handle the consequences. Peace infiltrated my soul.

As it turned out, my scary growth was a wart, of all things. “A wart?”

When the doctor made his diagnosis, I shouted, “Amen for the wart!” No wonder it was so ugly.

And then I felt foolish. I was a “worry wart” over a wart.

The next time you face an unknown situation, try not to worry. Most of the time, you are overly concerned about something that is benign. Instead, give it to God, and trust that in whatever happens, your loving Heavenly Father will see you through it.

 

 

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