#DWHabit - Word of the Day - Worry

Growing up I always thought my dad never worried.  As a young adult I found out the truth.  A couple of years after I married I went to my dad with a problem.  I told him I was so worried about the situation. I will never forget his answer. "Sandra, can you change it or fix it?"  I told him that I could not. He said, "Then why worry about it? If you can't change or fix it then the only thing you can do is put it in God's hands and leave it there. All the worry in the world is not going to change one single thing.  If so we'd have no problems."

I asked him if he never worried about anything. He said he did because everyone was human. It was in our nature to worry.  I asked him why it seemed he never worried about anything.  He took me into his office. He had a small toilet bank  on his desk.  He said that when a problem arose he would think about it for a few minutes. If there was nothing within his power he could do about it, he would take all of those negative thoughts and worries and flush them.  He pushed the handle down on that bank and I heard a flushing noise.  I had to laugh.  You see, when I was younger and had a problem or got angry my dad would tell me to literally write it down, read it, tear it up and then flush it down the toilet.  That usually got my mind off of it. 

I don't physically flush things down anymore. However, I do write about those concern. I keep a journal for just that purpose.  If it is a really tough day and that issue has plagued me all day, then when I get home I do flush it. You see, when my father passed away, one of the things he left me was that tiny toilet. It is a visual reminder to flush the worry about things you have no control. The last time I know of him flushing that bank was the night before he went into surgery. He was given a 50% chance of surviving the surgery and a 50% chance that one of two things would go majorly wrong.  The outcome was in God's hands no matter what. He knew that and figured there was no sense in worrying about it. He had already prayed for the surgeon.  He did survive the surgery, but  stroked out. He lived three more weeks and then passed away. There was no reason to worry about what he couldn't control.  I try to teach that to my students. If they do all within their power then they should not worry. The rest is out of their hands and worrying won't change that. 

So tell me. How do you handle worry?