Though The Anchoress is doling out wisdom within the context of what Pope Francis is (or isn't) doing and the Catholic reaction, her words actually have a much larger application:
We Americans have become a very anxious people; we helicopter-parent our children; we scream our ideologies out, everyday, as though doing so might keep the republic alive when it — like every other nation before it — will surely someday die. We wring our hands because Pope Francis heard a lamb desperately crying out for helpand mounted a rescue using the very map drawn by his predecessor.
The rescues have been going on for a long time, and they will continue past our lifetimes. War veterans
will tell you, they are seldom perfect or pretty, but they don’t have to be. The priority is to pull people out of danger and get the wounded seen to. Debriefing happens after the bleeding has been stopped, and the stitches have been sewn, not before.
Do not be anxious that someone, once rescued and treated, might not get debriefed. Everyone is, eventually, and by higher authorities than you and me.
Do not be anxious, because your anxiety feeds fear, and fear feeds the conceit that we, puny as we are, know more than God knows about human nature and the world.
Do not be anxious, because we live and serve in the midst of things visible and invisible, and at any given time, we are only glimpses of the whole.
Do not be anxious about anything. It betrays a lack of trust; it tells God that we think we can handle everything, and get it just right, by ourselves, thank you very much.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Matt 6:34
You know how I describe anxiety in my book, Strange Gods? As an idol, lying coiled, like a snake in the mist, hissing of threats to everything familiar, sure and safe, and playing to our naturally protective instincts.
We are to prefer absolutely nothing to God, not even our anxiety.
will tell you, they are seldom perfect or pretty, but they don’t have to be. The priority is to pull people out of danger and get the wounded seen to. Debriefing happens after the bleeding has been stopped, and the stitches have been sewn, not before.If you're one who suffers from anxiety, no matter its source, reading Elizabeth's entire piece is the tonic the Good Doctor has ordered.
Go read it all.
Be less anxious.
