I was at church yesterday and my pastor said “Stress is when you are trying to take responsibility for something you have no authority over.” I immediately thought “Guilty”. I am so guilty of this. I try to take responsibility for all kinds of things that I simply have no authority over. Then I thought of the scripture that says we should not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself. That each day has enough trouble of its own. I told myself that I would think about this scripture more and lean on it’s wisdom more. That I would follow it’s advice.

Sometimes, I can go to bed anxious. I am thinking about tomorrow and what may be in store and I will start to worry about it. Last night this started to happen. I was getting ready for bed and thinking about the definition of stress that I heard earlier in the day and I was thinking about the worry that tomorrow had in it and I could feel my self start to get anxious. Then I had this new, interesting thought:

What if I decided that tomorrow started at sunset?

So, here’s my thought process. Usually tomorrow starts with getting up more tired than I’d like, getting the kids up and out the door and getting my self to work and hoping that my sanity is intact. BUT. What if “tomorrow” started with a lovely warm shower, time spent curled up on the couch with my family watching a funny show then kissing my kids good night and sleeping for hours! LOL! That’s an amazing “start to my day” LOL! It’s a great way to usher in the day a little more on my terms than on someone else’s.

In Jewish culture the day begins at nightfall. This is the case because Genesis 1:5 says that it was evening and then it was morning on the first day. As a result Jews consider a day to go from nightfall to nightfall instead of from midnight to midnight. I found that when thinking like this I felt much less controlled by the trouble that is in a new day. I found that I was able to release the anxiety about tomorrow because I was able to “start” the day on my own terms.

It was lovely. My husband, brother-in-law and I went to a friends house to eat junk food and visit with them. We came home and put the kids to bed then I pulled up Jill Scott’s first album on Spotify, lit some candles and took a long warm shower. I spent some time praying with my husband and then we were off to sleep. The start to my day was so amazing. I went to bed feeling calm, and having decided to not worry about what was to come. I would just face things as they arrived instead of stressing out about things I have no authority over.

Think about giving it a try. Let your day end at sundown and let tomorrow begin with laughter and a great meal with your family, or watching a movie with friends or maybe reading a great book you could get lost in for hours. Let the world into your day hours and hours after you’ve gotten some of the tasty first bits. There will be time later to deal with the trouble in the day (big or small). Remember, God is near you so don’t be anxious for anything but in every situation, with prayer and thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. His peace, which overcomes our logic, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

I love you.

Danita