Live Original (Sadie Robertson) (17 page)

I am trying to overcome my tendency to worry so much. I have reached the point where I can laugh about it. In fact, I wrote something about it, just to poke fun at myself:

When I think ocean, I think shark.

When I think plane, I think crash.

When I think headache, I think brain cancer.

When I think home alone, I think kidnapped.

When I think “unknown number,” I think
Taken
.

When I think cough, I think asthma.

When I think quiet, I think “they must not like me.”

When I think tubing, I think snake.

When I think motorcycle, I think death.

As I said, I really am working to overcome my tendency to worry because I have figured out that worry can take away my joy and fun. Besides that, the Bible is full of verses that tell people not to worry or stress or be afraid, so living a worry-free life must be important to God. He must know that a lot of people worry, or He wouldn’t have put so many instructions about not doing it in the Bible! He knows we need to be reminded to stay calm and be at peace because that’s the way we can live our best lives.

A BLUE NEVUS?

Have you ever heard of a blue nevus (pronounced like “leave us,” with an “n” instead of an “l”)? I had not, until three doctors told me they thought I had one. Here’s how the story unfolded.

One day, I had my feet up and Two-Mama noticed a spot on one of them. It was kind of dark blue, in the shape of a dot. I had not seen it before, but I got a little worried after she asked me about it. A few days later, I was at a friend’s house. Her father is a doctor, so I showed it to him. “Hmmmm,” he said, “that looks like a blue nevus. You better have someone check it out further.”

So I showed it to another friend’s father, also a doctor. “That looks like a blue nevus or some kind of skin cancer,” he told me. “You need to see a dermatologist about that.”

I had no idea what a blue nevus was, but after two doctors encouraged me to investigate it—and the second one mentioned skin cancer—I got pretty nervous. By the time I saw my dermatologist, I was really worried.

“Yep, that definitely looks like a blue nevus. We need to take a biopsy of it,” she said after looking at the spot. By that time, I was almost in total fear and panic, completely stressed out about it.

The dermatologist got some kind of tool to use for the biopsy and started scraping the blue place—and the whole thing came right off! It wasn’t a blue nevus, after all. It was an ink spot! I had stepped in some ink about a week earlier at camp, when we were tie-dying T-shirts, so it was the kind of ink that does not come off easily with soap and water. I was fine, and everyone got a good laugh when it was over.

Another time, not long after the mystery of the blue nevus was solved, I got really scared because I started having headaches and my vision got blurry for about a week. At that time, I was trying not to be such a worrier, so I did not mention this to anyone. About a week later, I started getting nosebleeds and ended up with a red ring under my eye on the same side of my face where the nosebleeds were happening, so I finally told my mom. I was really worried that something terrible was wrong with me. As it turned out, I just needed glasses and the nosebleed and ring under my eye just happened because my springtime allergies were acting up—totally unrelated.

The important lesson I learned from these experiences is not to get all worried and upset about things until you know the facts. I spent a lot of time worrying about an ink spot on my foot, afraid it was something really serious when it wasn’t. I could have used that time to have fun, to think positively, or to do something for someone else instead of being self-focused and worried. Things often turn out better than we think they will. We just need to resist the temptation to worry and choose to believe the best about our circumstances, knowing God will see us through them.

STRESS STARTS WITH WORRY

The title of this chapter is pretty catchy, don’t you think? I mean, I’ve got the rhyme going on and everything—
stress causes a mess!
But it’s true. Stress causes major problems, and stress often starts with worry. Actually, the words “stress” and “worry” basically describe the same thing—being really anxious about something. As teenagers we don’t usually think much about making choices for our long-term health. We may see our parents or grandparents making choices to exercise more, lose weight, or eat better so they can become healthier, or we may know someone who has been sick and is now on a special diet, like low sugar or low salt (which doesn’t sound very good to me). Many of these people will tell you they wish they had made healthier choices when they were younger. Some of their doctors would even say that their health problems are related to not handling stress very well over the years. So I’m thinking you and I better start now to learn how to deal with stress and worry. That way, we can stay healthy for a lifetime.

High school and even junior high are great places to learn to manage stress, because there’s a lot of stress in those places. Think about it: we have to balance classes, homework, pop quizzes, exams, extracurricular activities, friends, family, church, learning to drive, bad hair days, and boyfriend-girlfriend relationships—and even hormones—all at the same time. No wonder we’re stressed!

If you walk down the halls of any high school, you will probably hear someone talking about being stressed over a test, a sports tryout, a play or band audition, a relationship, or something. What they really mean is that they are worried about those things. We get stressed because we are worried that we won’t pass the test, won’t
make the team, won’t get a role in the play or a place in the band, or might lose whoever we think is the current love of our life. As I mentioned, worry leads to stress, and stress is a really bad thing.

There’s a famous place called the Mayo Clinic, and on their website, they list some of the negative ways stress can affect us and some things it can cause, including: headache, stomach upset, sleep problems, anxiety, lack of motivation, inability to focus or concentrate, feeling depressed, overeating or undereating, drug or alcohol use, angry outbursts, and withdrawing from other people.
¹²
Not good!

Stress is bad for us, bad for the things we want to accomplish, and bad for our relationships. But there is a better way.

NO WORRY, NO STRESS, NO FEAR

In chapter 3, I wrote about my mom’s grandparents Alton and Jean Howard, and I mentioned that Mamaw Howard was known for being a prayer warrior and a woman of great faith. One of the greatest gifts she left our family was her love for the Bible. She quoted Bible verses all the time.

On my phone, I have a video of Mamaw Howard quoting her favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 41:10, in the old King James Version, with all the “thee”s and “thou”s and “yea”s. My cousins and I can all quote this verse in the King James Version because we heard Mamaw say it so many times. The truth of these words was so real and important to her that she wanted to make sure all of us knew
it too. We did not totally appreciate her efforts when we were children, but we do now.

Like a lot of people in Louisiana, Mamaw Howard had a very strong southern accent. She could stretch out a word like “my” for two or three syllables and emphasize it like it was the most important word in the English language, especially when she said, “I will uphold thee with the right hand of
my
righteousness.” Anyone who ever heard her quote the scripture could tell she believed it with all her heart.

In my favorite version of the Bible, the New Living Translation, this verse says,

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

No matter which version you read it in, the message is the same: “Don’t worry. God will take care of you.” If we really believe that, we will stay calm and trust Him, no matter what happens.

GOD’S GOT IT

I can understand why people worry about certain things. I’ve already said I have a tendency to worry too. One thing that is just true about life is that there will always be something—big or small—that we can worry about if we want to. The opposite is also true. If we don’t want to worry, we don’t have to. We can choose instead to do what Jesus teaches us to do in Matthew 6:25–27:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—

whether you have enough food and drink,

or enough clothes to wear.

Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns,

for your heavenly Father feeds them.

And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Jesus asks a great question, one all of us need to think about: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” In other words, can worrying help anything or change anything? That’s a big no. If worry won’t change things, why do we spend our time doing it?

A Dutch lady named Corrie Ten Boom lived a pretty dramatic life during World War II and wrote a book about her experiences called
The Hiding Place.
After the war started, she had lots of good reasons to worry. Her family helped hide Jewish people when the Germans were trying to send them to concentration camps. During the war, Corrie and her family were captured, and they ended up in a concentration camp because they had helped the Jews. Some of her family members died in the camps, but Corrie survived, was released, and came to live in the United States. She said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” That is so true, and I’m sure she must have learned it the hard way.

If you are anything like I am, you want to live today the best you can. You definitely do not want to rob today of its strength, because you need that strength to do what you’re supposed to do, to stand
up for what you believe in, to be a good friend and family member, to do well in school, and to go after your dreams. Next time you are tempted to worry, remember that it will not change anything about the future, but it will steal the energy you need for today.

A lot of people say their favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, where God says,

For I know the plans I have for you . . .

They are plans for good and not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.

Is there any reason to worry when God has good plans for you? I don’t think so!

INSTEAD OF WORRYING, YOU COULD DO THIS

Trying to overcome worry all by yourself can be pretty hard. The best way I know to overcome it is to ask God to help us. He actually tells us to lay all our burdens on Him, and it’s amazing what He will do for us if we just ask.

The apostle Paul wrote several of the books in the New Testament. He went through a
lot
in his life, and the books he wrote (which are really letters to different groups or individuals) are full of great lessons and advice about how to live. If you are not very familiar with the Bible and want to start reading it, Paul’s writings would be a great place to start. Some of the books he wrote, like Philippians and Colossians, are just a few chapters long, so you could read them pretty quickly.

Paul had been shipwrecked, thrown in jail, and persecuted. I’m
pretty sure there were many times in his life he could have worried. Instead, he wrote:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Then you will experience God’s peace,

which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds

as you live in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6–7

This is exactly what we need to do when we start to worry. We need to tell ourselves to stop worrying and start praying. As Paul says, that’s the way to experience God’s peace. And peace is the total opposite of stress.

HOW TO FIGHT STRESS

Sometimes, just reading a book that tells you not to worry is not enough. You need to know what to do with your mind when it gets tempted to worry. When your brain starts getting afraid or stressed about something, it’s hard to just shut down those thoughts. If you can replace them with other thoughts, that helps a lot. The thoughts I’m going to suggest you replace your stress with all come from God’s Word.

As I end this chapter, I want to share ten scriptures that can become your weapons against worry and stress.
Some of them are short enough to memorize pretty quickly. You can put these verses in your phone or on a piece of paper so you can find them easily. Then, when you start to get anxious about something, you can look at them and fill your mind with them, so you can begin to overcome your worries and fears.

1

“Be strong and courageous!

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.

For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.

He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

—Deuteronomy 31:6

This is a perfect verse to read when you are starting something new—like going to a new school or going to summer camp for the first time, or even when something bigger is happening, like you’re moving across the country or your mom is getting remarried and you have to get to know a stepbrother or stepsister. Don’t you feel relieved to know God is going ahead of you? I also love the last part of this verse. People are going to disappoint you at some point, they may even abandon you, but God will
never
fail you or abandon you. That should give you some peace right there!