Paranoid . . . or Proactive?

 

We chat on the phone as we prepare for the workday that stretches out ahead, talking through a series of decisions made and all the accompanying whys and wherefores.  We reflect on the steady stream of overwhelming choices thrown at us right and left as we wade through the oft' cumbersome subject of wellness.  The appointments, the tests, the consultations, the research, the gene pool, the medication, the insurance.  And the oh-so-challenging, never ending alteration of lifestyle in midlife.  The healthier eating and the exercise of aging limbs and muscles, heart and lungs.

Sigh.

For this is the positive, proactive route to take as we continue to run into the unknowns on this, our life journey.  Avoiding the whiffs of paranoia that dance enticingly toward us.  And drawing a line in the sand right smack dab in the middle of the treacherous hills and the dark valleys and the winding curves that sometimes threaten to throw us right off the edge into the terrifying abyss that looms far below.

And that line in the sand is this -

I  .  WILL  .  NOT  .  OPERATE  .  FROM  .  A  .  PLACE  .  OF  .  FEAR

Sane decision-making is all about making care-filled choices while we have the power to consider our options.  This goes hand in hand with much needed changes in behavior, all steered by the steady desire of our hearts to make it our goal to please Him.  Decisions driven not to get someone else off our backs or satisfy their strong opinions.  But thought-filled, prayer-soaked, common sense determinations that sprout wings and fly and give us a better chance of healthy living in the years ahead.

And this verse, right here - God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.   We operate not from that numbing paralysis of fear, but from a place of peace-fueled confidence.  Because He provides a measure of sanity and clarity and wisdom when we ask Him to step into the mix.

It's time for all that paranoid-laced fear to depart, yes?  Choosing instead to re-focus on cultivating that strengthening connection with our Sustainer.  Growing in that safe place where the daily power of His loving peace blooms and grows healthy and strong deep in the soul.  And enables us to head forward with some measure of confidence, living life well, knowing we did what we could along the way.  Leaving that whole health and wellness piece in the Great Physician's all-loving, incredibly wise hands. 

The words of Jesus whisper sweet through the indwelling Holy Spirit -  'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'

==> come with me to Nancy's  .  Beth's  .  Kristen's  .  Courtney's