A note from Pastor Travis 8/25/22
Dear FUMC Family and Friends,
Recently, our family discovered the TV show “Junior Baking Show.” It is a spinoff of “The Great British Baking Show,” but the bakers are children ages 10-13. It is a wonderful show filled with all of the excitement, creativity, and kindness between contestants that you find on “The Great British Baking Show,” and I am afraid that I may have become addicted to it. If you haven’t yet discovered it, I hope you give it a try.
On an episode that I watched earlier this week, a young baker was making a large, square cookie. She took it out of the oven and needed to remove it from the pan. Time was tight and she needed to get it decorated quickly so that it could be judged. However, as she removed the cookie from the cookie sheet a large portion broke off one of the corners. You could see both the panic and disappointment on her face. She said, “It broke!” Then she breathed deeply, composed herself and said something to the effect of “There is no use worrying about it. Worrying won’t change anything.” Then she set about trying to repair her cookie with icing.
I was amazed by her poise. She was in a pressure situation. She needed to do a good job on the cookie so that she wouldn’t get eliminated from the competition. She didn’t have much time, but she set aside her frustration, evaluated the situation, and began to repair the cookie. Her poise was amazing, but what was more impressive was her wisdom. I think that most of us could learn from her insight, “There is no use worrying about it. Worrying won’t change anything.”
In chapter 6 of Matthew, Jesus shares this same wisdom. You likely know the chapter well. In it we find this guidance, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry…can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” I love this passage, but I am not very good at following it. How about you? It took me a long time and a lot of maturing before I began to understand Jesus’ words later in the passage: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
There is a lot to worry about in the world. Studies show that not only is people’s anxiety growing, but it is happening at a younger and younger age. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has accelerated in the last 3 years. The effect this worry has on our mental and physical heath is great.
Today, I invite you to stop and breathe deeply. Hear these words of comfort from Christ: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Take another deep breath. Live into the wisdom of Jesus: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Take another deep breath and follow the example of that young baker. Instead of worrying, begin to tackle the troubles of this day.
Blessings and Grace,
Pastor Travis