Worrying too much wastes a lot of time

Worry is a beast. I grapple with the monster daily.

I sweat the small stuff. The medium stuff. The big stuff. If there were a way to cram more in the cracks between the small, medium and big stuff, I’d sweat that, too.

Exhausting, right?

Yet, the cycle of worry and regret continues. When we worry, we fight the same battle over and over. More often than not, the larger battle is that of trying to defeat the cycle rather than the initial worry!

It’s a meltdown waiting to happen.

I have had a love/hate relationship with worry for decades. I can’t tell you what it’s like not to worry. I imagine it’s blissful. Just as I admire people who can fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow (husband Wayne), I admire people who haven’t given in to the worry monster.

There’s a lot of baggage involved with being a chronic worrier. And guilt. I have wasted a lot of time worrying over things that I couldn’t change. There is a lesson in everything. Maybe we get it immediately, and other times maybe it takes a while to figure it out.

For me, the lesson happened because of my dad’s latest health battle. The Dad (as he is known to his fan club and groupies) recently spent nine days hospitalized in Lubbock. We had a lot of time to sit. And think.

The Dad, Tom Dobson, is one of the best people I know. From the scores of text messages, Facebook messages and phone calls, he’s the best person that a lot of people know. For as long as I can remember, he has lived his life with integrity and honor. And he made sure that his kids learned that lesson as well:

“Behave in such a way that at the end of the day, you can look yourself in the mirror and be OK with it,” and “don’t worry about the rest.”

At Westminster Presbyterian’s Maundy Thursday service, my dad was able to attend and sat at one end of the candlelit communion table while I sat at the other. After the prayer, I glanced up and saw my dad looking at me. He smiled. My heart soared.

Lesson received. “Don’t worry about the rest.”

Patti Dobson writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact her at: [email protected]