Worry? Who, Me?

So why am I up at 2:15 tonight? It is an entirely different reason that last night. Last night I was self-focused. Tonight I am concerned about another—my mother-in-law. I am trying to find the balance between realistic problem solving and unnecessary worry.

The past eight months of attending to the needs of my elderly, unhealthy mother-in-law have been a primer in elder care. One of the things I have found surprising is how quickly she can go from being okay to being dangerously ill. Knowing how to best care for her quickly changing condition has at times been somewhat frightening. My husband has been a solid rock in those situations even though he was as distraught as me. We have discussed options, re-evaluated the situation, and prayed.

But each time something new happens, I worry. I evaluate all obvious symptoms and wonder if I have missed something important.

Tonight when I checked on her at 12:30 AM as I do every night, there was a problem. I woke Ray up. We took care of his mother’s current needs and had a short problem-solving discussion before heading back to bed. But my mind would not quit working on the problem so I went to the living room. I looked up some information on the internet and found some facts which might be a clue to the cause of the issue tonight. I will talk with the home health nurse tomorrow during her scheduled visit.

Right now I need to get some sleep. This verse has often comforted me.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27 NIV

So I will tell Jesus my concerns because he values his children and will provide what we need.

Lord, thank you for the assurance that you care for me. Please take the worried thoughts from my head and replace them with logical thinking which will find the best solutions to the life-issues concerning me.