Years ago, I was still living with my parents. My father usually had to have the roto rooter company come out to clean out our drains, because inevitably every year they would back up into the basement because of tree roots growing into the drainage tiles. Not a pretty sight!

One year, the drains backed up, and the roto rooter man came out and did his thing. Within the week, the drains were backing up again. The roto rooter man came back out, because they have a guarantee that if it isn’t done right the first time they will come back out. When he tried to clean them out the second time, he ran into mud. He told my dad that he needed to have the tiles replaced, and that he would not be back. So my dad called some other company to service the drain, and they ran into mud too, and told him the same thing and that they would not be back.

My father proceeded to fuss and be angry that no one wanted to clean out his drain. (I have often wondered if the Roto Rooter man called other similar businesses and warned them about my father!)  He just could not accept the fact that he was going to have to have the yard torn up and replace the sewer tile. He fought it tooth and nail, and worried until he made himself sick, and my mother worried right along with him. This last time when he had so much trouble and found out what needed to be done, I was already out of the house and married. I was so shocked at how obsessed they both were over having to go through this. They worried worse than I have ever known anyone to worry. They could not sleep, could not eat, and it was all they could talk about. The worry took control of their lives. What good did it do? None, it only did harm in making them sick because they were so worried.

I always think of the serenity prayer whenever I start to worry…particularly:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

If my parents would have put that into practice, they might have added a few years to their lives. Instead they worried themselves sick over every problem that came their way.

Let’s face it, life gives us plenty to worry about. We can either let it drag us down with the weight of worry, or we can lift it into God’s more than capable hands. Always ask yourself if you can change anything, then set about doing it, but if you can’t change anything, then just pray more earnestly, and move on. What will happen will happen whether you are worrying or not!