Frogs and Worry


I loved biology in high school. Loved it. I loved the information. I read all the chapters. I got it...biology. Oh and I had a crush on the teacher who was also a coach. I was 15 or 16 and that would have made him um...25 or 26. (Why do you need to know this?)

That biology room was filled with lots of testosterone - male basketball players. I sat in the front row on the far end next to my buddy -one of the basketball players. It was a large class...a great class - except for the dread in my heart, the nightmare in my mind- the pending disaster in my soul.

We.would. have. to. dissect. a. frog- fourth quarter.

I had heard that the frogs for biology would be alive and we would have to kill them and then dissect them.

This hurt me on so many levels:

1. It made me absolutely sick at my stomach thinking about it. (You see, my friends, if I see a bug in the floor upon arising, I am in a spew mode the rest of the morning. Truth.)

2. I love dogs, cats, mice, birds, snakes, and frogs.

3. Pain literally shoots through my arms when I see someone's paper cut. How would I ever be able to cut on a frog?

4. I would probably burst out crying if I thought the frogs were suffering. How would that look to the macho coach like- hunk of a teacher?

So I worried.

Then the day arrive, the end of third quarter, when we would be assigned a lab partner. Coach leaned on the edge of his desk and slowly said, "This class will not be dissecting frogs this semester. Your class is too big."

Some clapped.

Some groaned.

I was singing happily inside my head. But on the outside, I kept it cool (it was the 70's after all) -except for the smirky grin on my face.

"What are you grinning at, Teresa?" Coach also grinned as he picked me out of the crowd.

"I'm just happy, Coach," I said, "Happy our class is so big."

Isn't it funny how what you dread or even fret about will 9 times out of 10 -never come true?

Worrying is a waste of our time. And I have never had one thing change for the better or worse because I worried about it.

Did you know that worry- anxiety burdens the soul and harms our health?

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up (Proverbs 12:25, NIV)

Did you know that you gain nothing from worrying?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27, NIV)

Oh and by the way- much much later after that class -I dated the coach (a very good man) for a short time. But, I just couldn't get past our history you know- the authority figure. Yes, I need therapy.

Will you join me to be Wednesday inspired by worrying less and by being faithful more? Let's leave the worrying to the...frogs.


 

Comments

White Dove said…
Teresa....
I was told very early in life that worry (and jealousy) were wasted emotions, and I've tried very hard to eliminate them from my life with limited success. Jealousy..phhft... gone...never was a problem. And I thought I'd sent worry away on the same train....that was until I had children.
As a mother...you know what I mean!
Tabitha Bird said…
Yes worry is very much like treading water. You go no where. You accomplish nothing. And yet I must get something out of it for I find it a very hard habit to break. Thanks for the scriptures. :)
Anonymous said…
I wish it was possible not to worry. However much I try not to be worried, i cannot stop it. I think,in the youth it is nearly impossible to realise time is passing and we won't have a second life in this world .
Christine Danek said…
I definately need to worry less. I do try and push myself not to worry but it is part of me. I will try my best not to worry today.
Thanks!
Angela C. said…
I come from the Queen mother of worry. So I'm fighting genetics (Ha). I try to not worry, but I do stress more than I should about things. I know that it's counterproductive and takes up positive vibes, but there are times I succumb to it.
It's a continual lesson in having faith, and letting the chips fall where they may. Yeah....I'm still working on that!

Angela
Sally said…
oh man... I Love this post...great story and exactly the reminder I need...

wonder if you broke up w coach cos you just couldn't get past the fact of all the frog killings in his history :)
Joanne said…
Bio was so not for me, partly I think b/c of the teacher. We just clashed, and I had such attitude I finally had to drop the class. But I didn't worry about it ... like you said, it was the 70s. I just moved on :)
Devon Ellington said…
It's a fine line between preparing for danger and borrowing trouble.

i refused to dissect a frog in biology class. I said I though it was cruel and wouldn't do it.

I always had problems with authority -- still do --and tend to get very stubborn when people try to push me into things against my beliefs.
Mason Canyon said…
Oh, if I only could learn to worry less. I tend to worry about any and everything, which of course accomplishes nothing. Loved your story. I hated dissecting frogs. We did it my junior year of high school and my teacher was a very scary lady. But it turned out, she was very sweet.
The Park Wife said…
We had to dissect a cat and my teacher was fat and old, so I can not relate, haha. Thanks for the encouraging words, worry can take over your life. I love the scripture in Timothy where it says that He has not given us a spirit of FEAR.I have to think about that often.
Mattenylou said…
Good post, and just what I needed today. I'm guilty about worrying over things that will never change. I'll work on not dwelling on those things this week, thanks.
Mary Aalgaard said…
I think you do gain something from worry...FAT! It's the thing that makes you eat the entire one pounder bag of peanut M&Ms. So, today, I'll walk around saying: exercise more, worry less.

Thanks for the frog story. We dissected worms and starfish. They were already dead and smelly. I could NOT have dissected a cat - how awful!
Mary Aalgaard said…
One more thing: I think we could call this No Worries Wednesday!
Teresa--Thanks so much for this reminder! I'd rather spend my energy on something besides worrying, but it seems to suck me in sometimes!

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
patti said…
Teresa, LOVE all your posts, but particularly this one, which:

1. brings back 7th grade science teacher days with the smell of formaldehyde and checklisting smashed-up stomachs and intestines.
2. a concern I have for frogs, which have suffered terribly thanks to pesticides and herbicides
3. the joy of scooping up frog eggs in a bell jar, sharing the life cycle with my babies, then releasing the tiny hoppers to their habitat pond.

I did get the worry part, too! LOL
Naqvee said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Naqvee said…
yea.. you are so right at this point even i used to worry a lot even at smaller issues at times.. i couldn't control my nerves.. i guess hormones were playing some weird game.. but then i learned it through various religious readings.. with worries you can not sort out anything but without worry you can do better work and keep the worry at bay!

lots a love a very cute story indeed.. this is why i prefer coming at your blog always!
♥ Naqvee
CM said…
Talk about God's timing...I was just letting something bother me right before I read your post! Now, after reading it, I realize how unimportant and meaningless the thing is that I was worrying about! Thanks friend for this good reminder.

BTW, I too had a crush on a teacher in High School, what girl didn't!!! But of course, it was from a far. I would love to hear more about how you ended up reconnecting with him after HS. Write, tell us the story!
If any of you think this post is for you, you are right. Because (and you can tell by all my errors) I had nothing to write until late last night. I had nothing - in mind. I like to meet Wednesday's with some kind of inspiration to keep me going. So I had resigned myself into thinking there would be nothing this week when God definitely took over the writing.

So it is for you! It is for me!
Indie said…
Well count me in on the group of people who worry TOO much. I really dont want to but it is sooo hard to stop that internal head voice!

Thank you for the reminder to keep trying and that I am not alone in worryville.

Indie
Unknown said…
Teresa, but I am so good at worrying. :-) I have told myself all the right things - 90% of what we worry about never comes to pass and worrying never solved anything. I like to refer to the Bible quotes you offered also. You wrote eloquently, by the way, but a frog in a biology class should worry. :-)
Dorothy said…
Sounds like a plan, stress can cause so many things to happen within the body this is a great post..my first visit.

Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
I was worried when I read that you love snakes.

But I needed to read -- and I mean NEEDED -- to read the rest of the post. It came at a great time for me.

Thank you.

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