By Fr. Adolf Washington –
A professor of psychology walked into the classroom with a half-filled glass of water. The students expected she would ask ‘Is the glass half-full or half-empty?’ Surprisingly, she asked “Can anyone guess the weight of the water in this glass?” The students made guesses.
She replied “The absolute weight of the water in this glass doesn’t really matter. If I hold this glass for a minute it doesn’t cause me pain. If I hold on to it for an hour my arms will begin to ache. If I hold it for a whole day, my hands will begin to become numb and paralyzed. The longer I hold it, the heavier it will become for me”.
Life’s problems and anxieties have the same affect on us. The longer you choose to hold on to them, the more painful it becomes. Think of your problems for a while and nothing disturbs your peace, but think of them over and over again and you lose your peace.
Jesus would often go-off to solitary places early morning to pray and draw strength from His heavenly father to carry himself through the burden and stress of the day (Mark 1:35). He also urged his disciples “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Mathew 6:34).
Prophet Isaiah assures those with worries; “He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”(Isaiah 40:29-31)
A worker in a refrigeration company one night entered a huge refrigeration container to do routine work. The door accidentally closed leaving him trapped inside. He screamed for hours in desperation. Inside the container, he began to feel colder, and weaker. Using his tools, he wrote on the wall of the container, “I am feeling colder, and getting weaker. I am dying and these may be my last words”.
Early morning, co-workers found him dead. They remarked “This man worried himself to death. He could have waited for us till morning”. The refrigerating container had actually broken down ten days earlier.
So, stop worrying. Trust God, start living.
Fr. Adolf Washington can be reached at: [email protected]
Courtesy: Deccan Herald