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.