If Overthinking Were an Olympic Sport…

I think if overthinking were an Olympic sport, I’d at least qualify for the finals. Anybody else?

Give me one unexpected phone call, one doctor’s appointment, two unanswered texts, and one simple, “Can we talk?” and my brain can turn it into a full-length documentary complete with dramatic music, plot twists, and an ending that probably isn’t even going to happen. It’s exhausting.

The crazy part is that half the things we spend hours worrying about never even happen. Yet there we are, carrying them around like they’re already reality. We rehearse conversations that haven’t taken place, imagine outcomes that don’t exist, and borrow trouble from tomorrow while missing the blessings sitting right in front of us today.

The other day I caught myself doing exactly that. I wasn’t carrying groceries. I wasn’t carrying care boxes. I wasn’t even carrying one of my 100-pound Bernese Mountain Dogs. I was carrying thoughts. And let me tell you, those things are heavy.

Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that if I worried enough, planned enough, analyzed enough, or replayed every possible scenario in my head, I’d somehow fix it.

Spoiler alert…

I didn’t.

Instead, I ended up with tight shoulders, clenched hands, and one very tired brain.

As I sat down with a cup of coffee, I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered the many conversations I had with my mom during her cancer journey. Whenever my mind started racing ahead of me, she’d lovingly say, “Lisa, God never asked you to carry the whole story. He only asked you to trust the One who already knows the ending. Rest your brain.”

Leave it to Mom to say in one sentence what I had been trying to figure out for hours.

And of course, she was right.

It’s amazing how much lighter life feels when we stop trying to do God’s job. Imagine that. The Creator of the universe has everything under control, and somehow I thought my afternoon panic session was contributing to the solution.

So today I’m making a trade. Less overthinking. More trusting. Less “What if?” More “What now, Lord?”

Because I’ve discovered something. Peace doesn’t come when every problem disappears. Peace comes when we stop carrying what was never ours to carry in the first place.

So if your mind starts writing scary stories today, remember this…

You don’t know the next chapter.

But God does.

And He’s a much better Author than we are.

So take a deep breath. Unclench your hands. Rest your brain. Leave the heavy stuff with Him, and don’t forget to enjoy the page you’re living today instead of worrying about the pages you haven’t read yet.

Happy Monday, my friend. 💜