14 May 2013

Hospitelaro
20km west of Astorga

Worry Ring

Buen Camino

We awoke completely rejuvenated. I slept the sleep of the dead which was so needed and appreciated. There are more and more 'new' pilgrims starting the trail. Some just started and the characteristic aches and foot injuries are obvious. Some have been traveling a while and are now injured and in risk of ending their pilgrimage.

One young Irish gal has severely injured her Achilles' tendon. A man I bunk near was addressing some foot wounds. When I inquired into his health, I recognized that he had such severe blisters just behind his toes that his skin was cracking and all under his toes was filled with pus abbess. It was so grotesque and painful looking. Worse was the look on injured pilgrims faces as they felt the impact of their injuries that might end their pilgrims walk.

Scary. Any of that could happen to any one of us. It could happen to me. A quick twist of an ankle on all the abundant loose stones or a fall and an pilgimage-ending injury could completely end the mission, just when we're just under 300 km from Santiago. We're getting so, very close.

This led me to contemplate the challenge of worry in my life. I offered to pray for many and friends before leaving for the camino and asked them to tell me in just ONE word, what they would like me to pray about for them.

Of the near 100 people who offered their prayer word, it is no surprise that the overwhelming majority asked that I pray for PEACE in their life.

Peace. We all crave it, love it when we're immersed in it, we spend and run long distances to revel in it. For so many, it is a rare, and we're starved for more of it.

Considering my morning scare and the coincidence of all who made it their premier prayer request, it became the focal point of my prayer meditation today.

When I examined episodes in my life when I was so starved for peace, it was due to one of two situations. In one situation, I was trying to make a big decision and was anxious about the choices. Do I/we buy the new car/ sell and downsize a home/ change jobs etc. Big changes.

The other episodes where peace was so absent, was due to worrying about something. We can all fill a list of reasons to worry. So many I visit in ministry are consumed in worry. The reasons are all logical. Usually the worry is rooted in a fear of what might happen. The worry grows like meringue in their mind. "If this happens, then this other bad thing will happen. If that happens, then OH MY GOD, how will I/We manage this terrible thing?" Worry makes more worry.

There is a whole litany of other worries: Worry about what might happen to someone we love. Worry about losing a job. Worry about a boss, a co-worker who is making work reputation questionable. Worry about a child who is living a risky life. Worry about a spouse's behavior, about their relationship which is turning rocky, about being consumed in all the time and energy it takes to be mom/dad, worker/ housekeeper/bill payer/provider, about waking up and finding that there is no more 'me' as a person- only doer of the 'next' thing on a list of never ending 'things' to do.
Some suffer from the worry that they are not happy and don't know what to do about life. All are just examples of how worry has impacted life.

Given as a whole, it is rather depressing. Worry over a long period of time can do great damage to one's life outlook. And it pays a great toll on all who live with them.

The meditation didn't dwell on this hopeless note. In fact, quite the opposite. I found myself meditating upon Matthew 4 and the story of Jesus' temptation. You may recall that language in the gospel is that the "spirit led Jesus into the desert, but the devil took him" to the temptations. This connected well with me.

So many episodes in my life I truly believe that God was in the decision, he was embedded in the discernment to move in a special direction. I believed God was calling me/us to it. Then, no sooner had I/we started this God-blessed activity, everything went haywire. Selling our old home and trying to buy our new one was such an episode. We truly believe God was encouraging the sell and move, but so many financial events scared the bejesus out of us. In the end, all happened in God's plan.

And all the worry! The spirit led, but the devil took us on a challenging ride.

God does not give us 'worry.' He does not give us fear. No where in Galatians 5 is there a fruit of the spirit called 'fear.' In fact, recollect how many times Jesus says, "Peace." or"My peace I give you, my own peace I leave with you." or "Dwell in my peace." Consider all the times Jesus uses the introduction of 'peace' in the gospels.

This combat between the worry I/we wage in life and the peace God wants for us led me to consider that perhaps I/we are not be militant enough against worry. Worry sounds to me to be Satan's effective weapon against us.

My meditation got me imagining how much pleasure, how much satisfaction Satan must enjoy when I/we get consumed in worry. It is so effective at stealing our joy, at abandoning our reliance on God, on centering all our attention on trying to outthink all of the ugly consequences. Worry must, I mean, must be so enjoyed by Satan in his observance of us.

In 1 John, it reads, " The devil, a roaring, hungry lion, is ready to devour us." Satan is known as "the prince of darkness, the father of lies." He lives in shadows of our life and is so deceitful in luring us into his traps. The spirit might lead, but Satan takes us. Let's call him what he is: a liar and cheat. He's a bully. He is a lover of hatred and evil. Jesus says in John 15, "I have come that you may have life in its fullest." Satan wants just the opposite.

My reflection was reminiscent of a Rocky movie. Rocky Balboa getting the snot beat out of him. He stayed in the ring and fought for his honor. He fought for his love. He fought a good fight.

I suggest, Carinos, that when we end up led into the "worry ring" of prize fights, our enemy might want to take our dignity, our confidence of who's we are, steal us all that we love and who loves us. We must be ready for the prize fight of our life.

Imagine it. When the next or even current event in our life finds us in worry, step into the fighter's ring boldly and give Satan the fight of his life. All too often we face worry as scared, timid kids praying for a way to make it through the worries. I suggest, instead, we take Satan's worry challenge head on.

Take off the gloves. Shout back at his threats. Stare him down and call off, "You want to throw down with me? Satan, you no power over me. I have a powerhouse team behind me. I have Jesus, risen from the dead. I have his blessed mother. I have creator of all the universe. I have all St. Michael's warriors on my side. I have the communion of saints who endured persecution for the faith on my side. My God is a miracle worker. He is Lord of Lord. King of Kings. Prince of Peace. He can bring down the power of flames of fire in His spirit." My God is an Awesome God.

Stare down your worries, your fears, all your anxieties. God knows it all anyway. He is your daddy. He will only give you good things. Satan takes us to the bad.

In Matthew 28, it ends with Jesus making a promise. Take this one to the bank, Carinos, "I will be with you always until the end of time." There you have it. A Jesus promise. He is with us. Always. When I/we are lost, He is with us. When life is filled with joy, He is with us. When life is filled with worry and fear, He is with us. He said it. Always.

Satan has NO power over Him. Jesus' promise is true. He's right with us. Tell Jesus, "Let's take care of this liar." Satan will flee. Guaranteed.

Recall that after each temptation, Jesus used scripture to combat Satan's challenges. If Satan has the audacity to tempt Jesus, son of God, would you not think he would not also try to tempt us?

Three times Satan tempts Jesus. Three times Jesus used the promises of scripture as to shield himself of the evil. After the third attempt, scriptures say that "Satan left Jesus, for a while, and God sent His angels to minister to him." He'll do that for us too.

Let's do the same in the combat against Satan's lure to worry. Be Rocky Balboa ready to fight the fight. If we end up in the "Worry Ring" then let's give Satan a new fight of his life. We need not be timid. Let's be bold. He's nothing. He's a bully. He wants to steal from us. He fights dirty. He deserves no dignity. He's a snake. We can't let him diminish all the belief we have in God's promises. He's nothing. NOTHING! NOTHING! All we have to lose is our worry and fears.

Let's fight back. Fight fierce and courageously. We have God's word of promise and power over Satan.

Let's not surrender our precious peace when led into the "WORRY RING." A crown of His glory awaits us.

Peace. Precious peace, Carinos

Upcoming:
Astorga, 20 K away
two strong 100 m climbs in early a.m.

Carinosamente,

Deacon Willie