But the Lord said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things. Luke 10:41 (NAS)
My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. Many tasks awaited, needing to be accomplished
sooner than later. There were the usual worries that accompany raising teenagers—some
real and some imagined. Throw in a few health concerns, and my nurses brain
went into overdrive. I felt like Chicken Little, waiting for the sky to fall. Anxiety
began to build up, affecting my sleep. I prayed, but wasn’t relying completely
on the Lord.
One night I had a vivid dream. My kitchen was packed with
people waiting for dinner. But my tablecloth had crumbs scattered on it. Barely
noticeable to everyone else—actually miniscule—to me they seemed huge. I had to
get rid of them. Grabbing the cloth by all four corners, I ran across the yard,
down a nearby riverbank to shake it. Turning back to the house I saw something
out of the corner of my eye. It was a huge lion crouched very close, ready to
pounce on me. I ran as fast as I could, barely making it into the house. I awoke
my heart pounding and 1 Peter 5:8 in my head, “The devil prowls around like a
hungry lion seeking whom he may devour.” I knew the Lord was telling me that fretting was distracting from Him and making me easy prey for the devil. Afterwards, every time anxiety crept in, I remembered the dream and leaned closer to the Lord.
Father, thank you for reminders that we are not meant to carry our burdens any further than your feet. Amen.
© 2012 Bonnie Mae Evans
