HAKUNA MATATA

HAKUNA MATATA

(No Worries)

The advertising of some companies proudly say their product is ‘worry free’.  I’m sure that is a great selling point until, of course, you find out that nothing is absolutely worry free.   If we could eradicate worry from our lives we would all look a lot younger.  As it is, worry is a burden that begins, I believe, on your first day of school and is your companion for the rest of your life, but how much worry fills your life is critical to your happiness.  Some people have made a life’s work of worry.  Some people have the ability to control their worry.  Some people never worry, but they are usually on something.  It isn’t possible to live a worry-free life, but, as it was with grief, Jesus knows all about worry.

Don’t you think Jesus worried about his mother alone in Nazareth after the townspeople turned on him?  We know he worried about the Disciples when he tried to protect them from the soldiers at the time of his arrest saying, “… if you are looking for me, let these men go.” (Jn18:8) Even at the point of death, he was concerned for his mother’s future and called upon John to protect her.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says, “ I tell you, do not worry about your life… can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” 

When reading those passages there is always a tiny part of me that says, “That’s all well and good, Lord, but are you really suggesting that nothing is worth worrying over?”  So today sitting by the lake, I asked him.  His answer was was immediate.

“No, I am trying to point out that worry over trivialities is wasted time.  Why should you fuss over whether your friends have seen all your outfits? (Ouch!)

Don’t worry about things you can’t change.  Stop worrying over things of which your God is fully aware. Trust the Father who loves you beyond measure to give you all you need to ease those worries. How many times have you heard me say, ‘Peace be with you’? That isn’t just my opening line. It is my profound wish for you.  I gave my life for your peace. So, Hakuna Matata!”

Blessings

Carol Lemelin OPA

Note: For those who don’t know the phrase, it’s from The Lion King when the Meerkat and Warthog befriended Simba and taught him to think life was just a bowl of cherries – Hakuna Matata – No worries.