The art of releasing worry

"Well, my rash has gotten worse, I even overheard my doctor refer to me as the Mysterious Alligator Man; my car makes a grinding noise that sounds just like an angry parakeet; my bedroom ceiling leaks, which is weird because I’m on the second floor of a three-story building; and my pet parakeet is missing."

But, of course, we don’t answer honestly, because, typically, the person was only asking to be polite. Imagine if you were to ask your bank teller how she is doing, only to have her launch into an emotional diatribe concerning her lecherous boyfriend and his overbearing mother. All you wanted was quarters for the laundry and you walk out with a Movie of the Week swimming around in your head.

We all carry burdens: a handful of worries, a dash of woes, a smattering of fears. … Some are weightier than others, but we all carry them — to the store, to work, to friends’ houses, and then back home again and to bed, where they can really get in the way of a good night’s sleep.

The problem is, when your worries and woes are getting the best of you, releasing them to God can seem about as easy as pulling a freight train up Mt. Everest.

So, how do we respond to our worries? Sometimes in less than healthy ways.

For example, some among you may find drinking an occasional pint of Jim Beam the cure for the blues. While alcohol can give one a feeling of euphoria for a few hours, it is accompanied by an uncontrollable desire to treat everyone like they are your best friend, including the pizza guy, a high school linebacker who didn’t want to know he looks like a cross between Yasser Arafat and Olive Oyl.

This can also lead to something the police call, "Domestic Disturbance," which is far more serious. Have you ever watched C.O.P.S.? They really ought to show this program at AA meetings. What were the life choices that ultimately led to that shirtless guy in the ball cap making a mad dash from his mobile home into the night, and moments later explaining to the police why he had picked a fight with his girlfriend’s Pontiac? Every episode has at least one shirtless guy in a ball cap.

"You own the night," the beer commercial says. Yeah, right. The next morning, throw in a little shame, a dash of rage, and you’ve gone from mildly glum to clinically miserable.

Others may seek escape from their worries through society’s newest addiction, the Internet. The Internet is good for communications and research. Otherwise, I think it’s just another device that takes us away from what is truly important in life. And by that I mean television. For example, last night I could have wasted a couple of hours cruising the Internet, going from one mindless site to another. Instead, I watched "X-Men 2," and "Iron Chef." Point made.

The most prevalent way that we fail to deal with our worries and woes is to bottle them up inside – to be an island unto ourselves, much like Hawaii, only not as humid. And what does Hawaii have, besides hula girls? Right! Volcanoes! Being an island means that eventually you’re going to erupt.

This leads me to what I feel is the best way to deal with your worries, woes and fears, and it starts with Johnny Carson. (By the way, he and my dad were in Midshipman School at Columbia University in New York City together during World War II. At age 19, Carson was even then the talk of the school.)

Some days were better than others for Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. And when he had those bad days – the days we all have sometimes – he would still plod onto the stage, cracking jokes and making people laugh, his problems slowly dissipating with each burst of laughter, until whatever ailed him was a distant memory.

The magic that made him forget his problems was the appreciation and love that enveloped him each night like a warm hug. Yes, that’s right: a warm hug. We can find the same love from family and friends, people who don’t mind hearing about our worries and fears, and who want to help in any way they can.

I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to hand my burdens over to Christ. I mean, it’s in his job description!

Instead, the way I deal best with my worries is to share them with those people who care about me the most, people who are ever ready to offer an encouraging word; people who, by their love, can’t help but build me up.

When you think about it, by confiding with those who most share Christ’s love for us, isn’t offering our problems to God exactly what we’re doing?