When You're Worried

When life seems overwhelming and you are filled with worry, this two-minute "time-out" for your soul can help.

READ: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

REFLECT: I sank into the chair in the hospital waiting room. Poor Mother! First, Dad's death and now this. If she survived this broken hip, how could she get along, living alone? The more I thought about Mother's future, the more bleak it seemed. Then I noticed a plaque on the wall with this quotation: "One act of thanksgiving made when things go wrong is worth a thousand when things go well."

All of my prayers for my mother during the long days that followed were thanksgivings, and I came to know that, no matter what happened, God was in control.

Mother did recover and was able to live in her own home for her remaining years. And that quotation has rescued me from negative thinking many times since. If there's something wrong in your life today, remember one act of thanksgiving can be worth a thousand.

By Marilyn Morgan King