Isn't it Ironic?

If you have ever heard Alanis Morrissette's song, "Isn't It Ironic," and you are me, then you are irritated. Why? Because that song is not about ironic events. Having a fly in your chardonnay or rain on your wedding day are events that would be considered unfortunate, a "bummer" if you will, but not ironic. I have to comment on that song every time it plays, and my 13 year old daughter always emits a well-rehearsed teenage sigh and says, "YES, Mom, WE KNOW, the song isn't ironic . . . it's only a bummer . . . you've told us like a billion times!" The other well-rehearsed part of teenage speech is the tendency to overestimate the number of times things occur.

Well, I do think Alanis Morrisette owes her high school English teacher an apology. But I bring up this song because right now, I'm wondering, isn't it ironic that I can still worry as much as I do when I pray and believe in the power of God to take care of me?

Now, I've really gotten better about worrying as the years go by. However, it seeps back into my daily life sometimes. I've got a lot to do at work. My oldest daughter starts high school in a few weeks. My nine year old is now officially as tall as I am. I've been working out steadily now for a couple of months and the weight is not magically disappearing like it would have five years ago. And my dog ate six bagels that were left out on the counter. The last one is not a worry, just a huge annoyance.

To top it off, last night, for no good reason at all, I decided to look up the costs of tuition at various college websites. Suggestion: do not do this. Even if you have kids eventually going to college. Because you can't pay for it anyway.

I think it is disingenuous for people inside churches to tell you they don't worry anymore. "If you just follow Christ, you'll never worry again!" Bull. They worry. But they hopefully have a better mechanism for dealing with the worry. They read Matthew 6, where Jesus tells us that we shouldn't waste our time and energy worrying because our Heavenly Father knows what we need. They pray. They ask God to help their memory improve so they don't leave food on the counter for their slobbery Labrador retriever to inhale.

It will all be alright. Because, of course, the war is won for us by Christ. The small battles of life (and they are small compared to His sacrifice) are just that, battles that will pass. This weekend at Nativity, we will hear a message asking us to reflect on this question: "How big is your God?" When we let worry completely overtake us, when we let the battles of life rule us, the truthful answer to this question is "not very big at all." At least, that is what we reduce Him to in our minds.

So, yes, we need to fight our battles, but while doing so, we have to remember that ultimately, the war is won.

Isn't that ironic?