(side note: If you find yourself singing Patsy Cline all day as a result of the title of this post, I’m sorry. And by “I’m sorry” I mean “you’re welcome.”)

Confession: As much as I like to describe myself as a laidback, go-with-the-flow kind of person, the fact of the matter is that I worry. Constantly.

Well, almost constantly. When I think about it, I realize that I actually worry less than I did in the past. This is mainly a result of feeling more settled in life than I did when I was just graduating and finding a job. But I still carry lots of worry and unease, and I know that they take away from the happiness and enjoyment I could be experiencing in life.

I’ve been working on pinpointing what causes me to worry, and I think it comes down to just a few things:

1. fear of the unknown

2. fear of relinquishing control

3. fear of how people perceive me and how I perceive myself

Whew. There you have it.

Notice a trend? Yeah, me, too.

Interesting how each of my worries starts with the word “fear.”

I see fear of the unknown and fear of relinquishing control as having a lot in common for me. As I’ve mentioned before, I feel restless in my current job, and I don’t know how to react to that restlessness. What does it mean? What should I do? Should I do anything, or just ride it out? Would I do the right thing? Would riding it out make me miserable?

I often put myself in this line of questioning. The comforting thing is that these questions tend to fall into those two categories.

If I leave teaching, what will I do? (fear of the unknown) What if no one hires me to do anything because all I’ve ever done is teach? (fear of relinquishing control) I chose teaching; what will I choose next? (both–maybe I need to learn to listen, yes?)

Something Katie said in chapter 2 of An Inspired Life really resonated with me:

“Living fearlessly is a huge part of living an inspired life for the Lord. It opens us up to His way and leads us to new places in our lives, relationships, and faith.”

I find myself coming back to that chapter so much during this season of my life, especially that quote. Notice how it speaks to those first two fears of mine? When I fear the unknown, I need to remember He’s leading me. When I fear relinquishing control, I need to remember that I’m not in control anyway. He is, and His plan is so much better than mine could ever be.

Katie goes on to talk about asking God to free us from lies, especially lies that create fear or cause us to compare ourselves to others. Instead, we should trust and surrender.

Trust and surrender. How utterly beautiful and so very, very true.

This also speaks to my third fear, the fear of how others perceive me and how I perceive myself. If I let go of the fear of comparison, I will be well on my way of letting go of this fear.

Can you see why I’m so thankful for Katie and her book club?

There are a few verses I keep referring to while I’m working through these fears:

Philippians 4:6-7

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Timothy 1:7

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

As I continue seeking happiness, I have to let go of fear and worry. They aren’t productive. All they do is get in the way. I’m surrounded by blessings, and God’s plan has never let me down.

How do you deal with fear and worry? Do you have any verses that get you through those feelings?