"What if" will take the place of "what is" if you let it

Today's study was good (don't get me wrong), but it was not something I deal with too much in my meditations and thoughts. It was about worry and falling on the "what if's" instead of "what is". She points out several places in the Bible where we are told what to do when we are tempted to worry and that Jesus Himself told us that tomorrow would worry about itself.

I have never really been one to worry. Even in my "self-centered days" as a teen I never worried. I had just the opposite idol-- self assurance. I knew there was nothing to worry about because no matter what, I had a solution. OK, so maybe that had nothing to do with the fact that I was adrift from my Lord through my teen years and everything to do with the fact that I was a teenager. It seems to me as I get older many teens think this way. I think parents joke about their "know-it-all" teenagers. I was one of those... ANyway back to the point, I never really fell into the trap of worry. Now I wholeheartedly trust God to provide, and have for 8+ years, I see NO need to worry. If my heart starts to be tempted to worry (which the temptation is ALWAYS there) I just pray. I listen for an answer and I have never been let down. When you live as we do, paycheck to paycheck, this becomes a regular occurance and let me tell you-- GOD IS SO GOOD! There has never been a time when a bill or need has arisen that God has not been able to supply for the need and/or pay the bill. Often it is a call from work needing me to cater, overtime at work for Ernie, a neighbor who needs a job done and REFUSES to let us do it for nothing... sometimes it is a mysterious gift card in the mail, a refund check from some obscure something we did not expect, or a gift from an anonymous person... No matter how it is played out, God has provided. HE ALWAYS has and He always will, so worry about the future is not in my closet. Like I said yesterday, I have a well stocked bin with God's wonders. I just need to do a little cleaning and get rid of the junk!

Something interesting: Ernie and I are watching Stephen King's Dreamcatcher on VHS-- you should see their thought closets. One guy has his own incinerator in the basement of his closet. It actually looks more like a infinite level library with a huge spiral staircase than a closet. I think I'll build me an incinerator in mine!