100 Years from Now, All New People

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

When I was young, I used to freak out... over little things... my parents called it jumping to conclusions. I would examine a situation and discover everything that might possibly go wrong and stress about the worse case scenario. For example, mind you this one is extreme, a trip fishing at the beach would lead me to think I was going to get stranded on a deserted island, bitten by a shark, lose a limb, be attacked by hermit crabs, and live forever as the armless, shark-bitten, crab ridden girl on Gilligan's Island. Extreme, I know, but you get the picture. I would then spend the next several minutes, hours, or days obsessing about what might happen, when in reality the worst case scenario was a sunburn.

As a result of my crazy conclusions, my wise dad bought me a book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and its All Small Stuff." He then recommended chapter 99, "100 years from now, all new people" and made me read it in front of him. (Now, here's the part where I mention my parents then proceeded to buy me the sequel books as they came out over the next few years - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Financially, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens, etc. - you can always look them up or ask to borrow them, if needed - I have the whole collection - of course, I've only read chapter 99 ;).... sorry dad!).

Needless to say, and painful to admit - chapter 99 really helped. Although I think the freaking out was just a phase, I am proud to say its not a norm in my current daily life (but, it does sneak up every now and then). Truth is - its unhealthy to freak out over the hypothetical. But, yet, we all worry about what might be. God doesn't desire for us to live a life in fear or worry. In Matthew 6:34, it states, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself; each day has enough trouble of its own." Then, again in John 14:1 it states, "Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God - trust also in me."

Truth is - chapter 99 was right. One hundred years from now, there will be all new people. And, are they really going to care that my sweater didn't match one day? Or, will it matter that my floor didn't get mopped yesterday? Or, honestly, are they going to know that I spent too much money at the mall? You see, the things we worry about are often trivial in comparison to eternity. God takes of us. And, its our job to focus on eternity. One hundred years from now, I hope to be in glory - and quite honestly, who cares if my shoes don't match?

So, upon reaching a stressful situation (and trust me, I'm talking to myself), it would a good idea to step back and ask, "will this matter 100 hundred years from now?" And, maybe that will help us keep things in an eternal perspective.


"Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters..." Isaiah 55:1