Guest Column / Richard Etienne

Worriers: trust in God, don’t let the future rob the energy from your present

Are you a worrier? Do you imagine all kinds of scenarios where your plans could be seriously affected with various outcomes—mostly negative?

I have found that there are certain lessons that I must return to over and over again and continually relearn in my life.

One of these is dealing with too much worry and anxiety about every possibility in the future.

A group of my friends liken me to a meerkat, which is known to constantly be attentively watching for danger and seeing that no one in their group is somehow lost or hurt.

My spiritual director refers to this syndrome as “the future robbing [or draining] the present.”

In this situation, a person basically takes much of the energy that was meant for today and uses it to imagine all of those things that may go wrong in the future. This can eventually stop any individual from taking any action, which effectively paralyzes them in the present moment.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read, “… do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. … Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?” (Mt 6:25, 27)

These are words that I have heard many times in my life, but it seems I have great trouble putting into practice.

What percentage of your waking hours would you guess are spent worrying about the next meal, your clothing, or how to avoid the high probability of your own death before Jesus’ return? If statistics are to be believed, it seems that most Americans spend a great deal of time on each of these issues.

Yes, a person must plan for the future. One must also be realistic about various outcomes and plan for them. But eventually, one has to trust that there is a larger plan (God’s will) and not “overdiscern” repeatedly until, again, he or she becomes paralyzed.

Is worrying an issue in your own life? What steps could you take to begin the process of reducing its influence in your daily routine?
 

(Richard Etienne has a degree in theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad and resides in Newburgh, Ind.) †