It isn't Wednesday Yet

My daughter and 5-year-old grandson have been reading a book series called Stink, which they checked out of their local library. Stink is the pesky 6-year-old brother of a character named Judy Moody. Just the kid's name appeals to the humor of that age group.

 

Last week, one of the Stink books went missing. This past Sunday, my daughter, who always honors library due dates, opened her email and gasped, "Oh, no!" 

 

"What's wrong, Mommy?" my grandson asked.

 

Panicked, she answered, "We have to find that Stink book. It's due on Wednesday."

 

He casually looked at her and said, "It isn't Wednesday yet."

 

In this small, everyday scenario of my daughter's life, I find an invaluable lesson about the futility of unnecessary worrying. How often do we, like my daughter, start worrying about something before we need to? The simple answer is, "Far too many times." Spending precious hours and mental energy on concerns that aren't immediate allows anxiety to worm its way into our minds, squeezing out the joy and peace that should be there instead.

 

Consider my grandson's response to my daughter's premature panic, "It isn't Wednesday yet." With his innocent wisdom, he highlights a fundamental truth: Worrying about the book's due date on Sunday doesn't change the fact that it's due on Wednesday. And beginning to worry on Sunday makes the time leading up to Wednesday less enjoyable and fulfilling.

 

My grandson's response to my daughter's panic is a good reminder to consider the urgency of our concerns. While there are certainly real, pressing issues in life, our worries mainly arise from hypothetical situations or distant deadlines. By focusing on them prematurely, we rob ourselves of the present moment's beauty and the energy required to address the crucial challenges in our lives.

 

So, I encourage you to take a page from my grandson's book—pun intended. Embrace the present and liberate yourself from the weight of needless apprehension. Unnecessary worrying is a habit that serves no purpose but to steal your happiness. Learn from the 5-year-old who said, "It's not Wednesday yet." Don't let tomorrow's worries overshadow today's joys. 

 

Oh, and by the way, the book showed up Sunday evening, buried under clean unfolded clothes in the laundry basket.