Worry is Like an Armadillo

Stay with me here. I'm departing (again) from my 7 part series on excess because this is on my mind and I'm willing to bet it's on others too. Not the armadillo part. The worry part. Years ago, before kids and when the only baby that lived in our home was a sweet Basset Hound named Tootsie, there was also an armadillo. One evening when MOTH was working a shift as a paramedic, I was awakened by the howling/barking that only hounds can produce. I went to the back sliding window and called for Toots. The howling continued until I was worried the neighbors would be awakened. It was 2:00 am after all. So, I found shoes, went outside, down the back steps and when I got to the backyard, encountered a sight I may never see again. There is my 55 lb. Basset being chased by an armadillo. Toot's ears were slicked back and she looked like she was being chased by the Devil himself. Her eyes shifted to me and she gave what looked like a "Help me!" look. I laughed a bit, thinking to myself that this was a small animal, Toots was a chicken, and I'm a large human. I figured I'd stomp my foot at the beast and it would run, frightened, for all it was worth. So I stomped my foot. About 2 minutes later the procession looked like this: Toots in the lead, me in my pajamas behind her, and the psychotic armadillo chasing the both of us. My stomping had not worked.

Sometimes worry is that armadillo. You think you are going to stomp your foot at it and make it go away but it ends up chasing you in the middle of the night. I've read all sorts of devotions on the topic of worry. Some say it's a sin. Some say it's because of our human nature and means we don't have enough faith. But let's face it, every now and then the armadillo creeps in when we feel what we love is being threatened. (The Devil is good at putting that little seed of worry and doubt out there.) Maybe it belongs there to help us find a solution we couldn't think of any other time. Of course, there is a point when there is too much worry, and that is a problem. It affects your health and your relationships with others. In all times of worry God wants us to seek Him. God will always win out against worry when we honestly seek Him. I'm happy to report that Toots and I escaped the armadillo unscathed that evening. I know that God will see us all through the worry that creeps in at night. Seek Him, and stomp away the worry today.


So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)