One Worry a Day Keeps Peace Away...

“What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.” ~Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 

When I think of the word “vanity” I immediately think of all the times I have stared in the mirror, contorting myself in various different angles, each more ridiculous than the last, and still been perpetually unhappy with what I saw. One time in my teens, I gave up on all mirrors and refused to look at them. I even refused to look at my shadow! This lasted about a week. I have since decided that it is okay to take a peek every once in a while to make sure my hair is at least traveling in the right direction—and I don’t have dried slobber caked to my face when I wake up in the morning.  
I have since stopped talking to mirrors like the witch in Snow White, but worrying about everything else under the sun is still high on the list of things I still do in vain. Anxiety constantly follows me around like a little black creature, howling at the top of its tiny lungs. No matter what I do, I cannot escape it. So I do the next best thing. On the days I can’t stop worrying and the nights I cannot sleep, I give that little howling creature to Jesus. I remind myself that we will never know how scared and anxious He felt during the time leading up to His execution, but we do know that He didn’t let it stop Him from fulfilling His mission of Peace. We can take comfort in that.