Ditching Worries

I read a devotional this morning that really had an impact on me; it was a simple little story; however, it has a huge application for someone like me, one who fights the “worrying” temptation more often than I’d like to admit.

 

A woman tells a story about her father who purchased 10 acres of land on a hilltop as a beautiful summer refuge for their family.  It was beautiful, not only because of the physical surroundings (strawberry beds, crocuses, orchards and big gardens) but because the father made it a place where all problems were to be left behind.  He insisted it be a refuge away from worries.

When they turned off the highway to this summer home, the first thing they saw was a ditch.  The dad named the ditch, “Worry Ditch.”  So before heading up the hill (a hill they fondly named Mount Pleasant) the dad stopped the car, and one-by-one, family members got out of the car and “threw” their worries into the ditch.  The dad even made a sign for all visitors, letting them know that “worries” were not permitted -- worries that may be “big or small, fat or thin” were to be ditched before heading up the hill.  And while on vacation, if a family member forgot the rule -- by allowing worrying, complaining, or quarreling in the summer home -- the dad would send them back down the hill to the ditch, to “dump” whatever was spoiling their experience.   As I pictured this beautiful place of refuge, I said to myself, “I want to go there!”

I also thought about the impression the dad was trying to make on his family, and I was reminded of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew Chapter 6, specifically about worrying.  I read it again this morning and realized at any time -- not just once a year on a summer vacation -- I too, can go to “Mount Pleasant.”  I can go any day of the week, any time of the day and worship the One who taught me that worrying is a waste of time.  Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his(her) life?” (v. 27)  Jesus taught from a mountainside, and I can only imagine that it was beautiful too, even more beautiful than Mount Pleasant. 

So, today, I sit on the mountainside of my own “Mount Pleasant” reading Christ’s words of encouragement, remembering that I haven’t “ditched” my worries entirely.  But, I don’t have to run to a ditch to get rid of them.  I simply leave them with Jesus, and it’s there where I find peace and contentment.  

Will I still be tempted to worry?  Will it be something I continue to struggle with?  Yes.  However, if I take refuge in Jesus by heading to His “mountainside,” and if I do this often -- as the dad taught his family to do -- the worries of this world will lessen.  And my worship will increase for the One who said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”