Me – Without Glasses? Hard to Imagine

Hi, everybody.

I’ve worn glasses for sixty or so years. I can’t quite imagine me without glasses. But today, due to an issue with my eyes, I had cataract surgery on my right eye and tomorrow I’ll have the same on my left eye. They say when my eyes recover from the surgery, I won’t need glasses for distance. I should be able to walk Frankie without worrying about glasses. Well, maybe sunglasses. I will probably still need glasses for reading, but I will be able to go without glasses sometime. Right now, I’m not seeing well at all, but I have hope instead of worry that will get better.

Anyway, since I’m not seeing well, I pulled out an old post about turning worries into prayers that I hope  you will enjoy. Since I first wrote it in 2008, I doubt any of you will remember every word. I certainly didn’t. I do remember the book I talk about worrying over because my editor at the time was slow to respond about the story. It was Angel Sister. You all know that’s a book of my heart since so much of the background of the story was inspired by the memories Mom and her sisters shared about their growing up years.

So, here goes – Worries to Prayers

Have you ever worried about something until you were nearly sick? I know it tells us in the Bible that worrying is useless and shows lack of faith. And I also know that most all of us do some worrying at times. Our teenage son is late getting home — we worry. Our daughter is having a baby — we worry. We get an unexpected bill we aren’t sure we’ll be able to pay — we worry. We are supposed to turn our worries into prayers, and I try to do that. But I have to admit sometimes I keep yanking those worries back, saying, “Wait a minute, Lord. I’m not quite through with that yet.” As if just sitting and stewing and worrying can change a thing. Now prayer, that can change things.

At any rate, I’ve been doing some stewing and worrying the past few months about my just finished book that I sent off to the editor. I waited and waited and waited for news. Good news, I hoped. But then the weeks dragged on. It’s been my experience over the years that good news comes relatively quickly from editors and bad news can be a little slower. So when the time passed when I thought I should have heard, I began to worry that the editor didn’t like the book. I worried it wasn’t a good story. That I hadn’t done a good job. All that worrying messed up my head until I couldn’t seem to get going on my new idea. Then I finally talk to said editor last week and she hadn’t even read the book!! She’d been extra busy and hadn’t gotten to it. I’d made myself sick for all the wrong reasons.

That’s not to say it was good that the editor hadn’t made time to read my book. But it does say that I was worrying about the wrong things. That’s usually the way of it. We worry that this or that will happen and then something altogether different happens and we haven’t done anything but get gray hairs and frown wrinkles from worrying.

Praying is much better and I’m going to try to remember that as I start a new countdown on waiting for news. Pray. Pray. Pray. I believe in prayer. I truly do, but sometimes I don’t act very much as if I do. And then I have to pray for forgiveness and start over at square one. Aren’t you glad the Lord is so forgiving? That He gives us another chance and another chance and another chance if we ask for it.

Well, that’s my sermon of the week. Remember — worry is like a rocking chair. It keeps you busy, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

P.S. My editor did read my book, Angel Sister, and loved the story. It turned out to be one of my best selling stories and has gotten such great feedback from so many readers. Maybe I did turn some of those worries into prayers and the Lord blessed my story.

Hope you have a blessed week ahead. And no reason to worry.

Have you read Angel Sister, the story that had me worried?