Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I woke up “on the wrong side of the bed” this morning.  Actually, I woke up quite grumpy – it was one of those mornings when I kept falling asleep and waking up over the last two hours of sleep and it wasn’t refreshing.  You see, I have some worries.  But today’s daily lectionary text (one of my favorites, btw) addresses this.  Jesus calls us to a different way of life than worrying because worrying will neither solve the situation nor bring us closer to God.  Instead Jesus calls us to look at the creation and see God’s handiwork and care.  The flowers do not worry about their beauty, they just show it.  The birds do not worry about their food, they just go and get their “daily bread” (see what I did there?), for God provides.

Today, as I am mindful of my mood, I step back and thank God for all God has done.

Father, thank you for all your blessings.  May you remove our worries and fill us with your peace.  In Jesus’ name, amen.