Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Flowers never worry, they just do whatever God tells them...

So, I have been thinking, reading, and praying. After my trip to the chiropractor last Wednesday, when he told me there was really nothing physically wrong with my neck,  I decided to research tension and back pain, and I have heard the Lord speak to my heart.

I already knew the pain was psycho- logically induced. The last two weeks have been tension packed culminating in a birthday party for my little grandson, Simon. Simon turned two on Monday and, though I desperately wanted to be there for his birthday, it also meant I would come face to face with my son who I hadn't seen since January. (No, we haven't yet been able to settle our differences. I don't know who hurts more, him or me.) We did go to the party and we did see Dave, but we didn't see much of him. By Monday the party was behind us and one might think the reason for all the stress should have dissipated, but it hadn't. The area between my shoulder blades was tied in knots. Nothing helped, not medicine, not heat, and not a visit to Dr. Matt and his neck snapping techniques.

I did a bit of research on line and found some books on psychologically and emotionally induced pain. I ordered two from the local library and began to read. Much of what I learned made sense, but coming from a Christian viewpoint, there was also information that conflicted with what I know to be true according to the Bible. I don't need to dig up past events and childhood hurts and emotions. God has already dealt with that. What I need is to realize and remember is "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) My heart and mind, when left to themselves, can create physical pain in my body, and this pain is debilitating even if there is no actual physical cause for it. It does, however, distract me from concentrating on whatever I am stressed over, and I should be giving all that to Jesus rather than tucking it away in my brain to come out as pain later, because it always does.

James turned on the television this morning, something highly unusual for a Sunday before church. He flipped through a few channels before settling on one. I listened to a somewhat familiar voice. In a way that only God can bring together, I was both amazed and amused to hear Charles Stanley speaking on anxiety. He even mentioned some of the very thoughts that have been in my mind the past few days. "Anxiety divides your mind," he said. Wasn't that book I was reading called "The Divided Mind"? Somebody knows what I'm going through. I love when God does that!