Worry is interest paid on a loan never taken out ... Matthew 6:25 with a story from the life of Connie Mack, an observation, a little lighter look at worry and a prayer

SCRIPTUE: Matthew 6:25 (NIV)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

A STORY:
Connie Mack was one of the greatest managers in the history of baseball. One of the secrets of his success was that he knew how to lead and inspire men. He knew that people were individuals. Once, when his team had clinched the pennant well before the season ended, he gave his two best pitchers the last ten days off so that they could rest up for the World Series. One pitcher spent his ten days off at the ballpark; the other went fishing. Both performed brilliantly in the World Series. Mack never criticized a player in front of anyone else. He learned to wait 24 hours before discussing mistakes with players. Otherwise, he said, he dealt with the goofs too emotionally.

In the first three years as a major league baseball manager, Connie Mack's teams finished sixth, seventh, and eighth. He took the blame and demoted himself to the minor leagues to give himself time to learn how to handle men. When he came back to the major leagues again, he handled his players so successfully that he developed the best teams the world had ever known up to that time.

Mack had another secret of good management: he didn't worry. "I discovered," he explained, "that worry was threatening to wreck my career as a baseball manager. I saw how foolish it was and I forced myself to get so busy preparing to win games that I had no time left to worry over the ones that were already lost. You can't grind grain with water that has already gone down the creek."

AN OBSERVATION:
So much of our living is consumed by worry about something that will never happen. Who was it that stated: Today Is the Tomorrow You Worried About Yesterday. As as another unknown author has stated this truth: Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles.

Bottom line – what a glorious waste of time and energy this foolish habit of ours.

Can we really change our health by worrying about it? Yes … we can make it worse! Can we really change our financial situation by worrying about it? Yes … we can make it worse! Can we really change our future by worrying about it? Yes … we can make it worse by fretting way the time that we could be doing something constructive about our future.

Next week is Thanksgiving. Isn’t it a wiser use of our time and energy giving God the praise and glory for everything … living in the moment … sharing the journey with others … enjoying the sunshine and the rain? Somewhere along our journey to adulthood we have lost the joy of playing in the rain … actually, dancing in the rain … and then the thrill of curling up in a warm blanket after getting all wet.

Enjoy the moment because it will soon pass on and then there will be another moment coming down the pathway of life. Experiences are all around us and we simply miss so much of life by worry about something that will never happen.

A LIGHTER SIDE OF WORRY Just had to share this one because it is better to laugh than to cry at life:
How you can tell when it's going to be a rotten day:
You wake up face down on the pavement.
You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold.
You see a “60 Minutes” news team waiting in your office.
Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
You turn on the news and they’re showing emergency routes out of the city.
Your twin sister forgot your birthday.
Your car horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the freeway.
Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
The bird singing outside your window is a buzzard.
You wake up and your braces are locked together.
You call your answering service and they tell you it’s none of your business.
Your income tax check bounces.
You put both contact lenses in the same eye.
Your wife says, “Good morning, Bill”, and your name is George.

PRAYER:
Help us to see life as you see it, gracious God, and then guide us so that we will learn to trust you in all circumstances through Jesus Christ. Amen.