Does anxiety creep up on you this time of year?
Like a sneaky Halloween spider, anxiety has a habit of silently creeping into my schedule come November.
My anxieties fall into common groups like these:
- holiday decorating crammed into my full schedule
- how to get all the shopping done and paid for
- extra cooking and cleaning, when I already struggle to keep up with it
- end-of-year bills that hit our finances hard
- letting people down with my “no” answers
- perennial extended-family feuds
Do any of these anxieties resonate with you?
Every season presents temptations for new anxieties. This season it’s true again for me.
Now I hand over my anxieties to God in prayer and Christian meditation.
Literal out-loud prayers when I feel anxious. Here’s an example:
“Lord, I truly don’t know how I’m going to get all my stuff done today. There’s just too much, and I already feel the anxiety rising. I’m handing my whole to-do list over to you, Father. Nothing is impossible for you, so I will choose to believe you can help me today. Show me what to prioritize and what to let go. Thank you that I can cast every little care on you, because you care so much for me.”
That day, I had to say no to a few people. I feared their responses, but everything turned out fine. I had to let go of a few other goals. I had to say, “This isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough.”
Meditating on 1 Peter 5:7 throughout the day helped me choose peace instead of anxiety. Every time anxiety welled up, I cast my anxiety on God.
That night, I went to sleep with peace. I believe I slept with greater peace because I had cast my cares on God, and He cared. He didn’t brush my small worries aside. He cared about them because they mattered to me. He showed me it is OK not to be perfect. I did my part and trusted him with the difference.
Have you prayed a prayer like that when you felt anxious?
How did God help you?
For the rest of this season, I’ll be praying a prayer like that again and again. I’ll also meditate on 1 Peter 5:7 when those anxieties rise. I want to enjoy this beautiful season without worrying myself to death.
Do you believe your smallest, everyday cares matter to God? Test him–pray about the small things, meditate on his word, and watch your peace multiply.
