Annemarie and I are reading Linda Dillow's Calm My Anxious Heart together over the next twelve weeks. I read it for the first time with my women's Bible study group a few years ago and enjoyed it then, so I'm looking forward to my "second draft" reading!
Much has changed in and around me since then, and I know many "new" ideas will be meaningful to me now that I probably missed then.
My initial reaction to the first chapter title – "My Journey to Contentment" – was annoyance. "What's up with 'contentment'? I'm not looking for contentment...I just want to feel less stressed and uptight, that's all!"
Oh, the irony!
On the second page, Linda shares her missionary friend Ella's "prescription for contentment":
* Never allow yourself to complain about anything – not even the weather
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Four other concepts round out the list, but they're irrelevant right now...at least to me.
Never complain? As in n-e-v-e-r?
But that's not fair! My emotional health will be destroyed! Is she trying to take away my rights as an American citizen?
(Oh, the irony!)
What we continually think about eventually shows in our words, actions, and even on our countenances, Linda points out. I know this is true, and I know that what I think about is the major source of my anxiety – my discontent.
