When I was a child I spent some time at my great-grandmother’s homestead in central Texas. In a German community called The Grove. (The Germans pronounced it “T’ Grove.”)

She lived in the log cabin she was born in and later died in.

One afternoon my cousins and I were playing outside. I can’t recall what. 

I do recall there was a wire running from a utility pole. It must have been close enough to the ground since without thinking through the possibilities I grabbed hold of it.

I still remember how hard it was to let go. I remember wanting to let go. I remember thinking I really needed to let go.

The line voltage was strong enough to cancel out my brain’s messages for a spell. It was like a weird bad frustrating dream. 

I kept holding onto something that had the potential to kill me.

Worry is like that electrical wire. 

Something about our ignorant curiosity. Something about our broken relationship with our Creator. Something about not being content with living in the moment.

We grab hold and struggle with letting go.

We worry about realities not yet real. About illnesses not yet diagnosed. About jobs not yet lost or marriages not even close to the brink.

Science says I was able to eventually let go of the wire because the voltage wasn’t strong enough to break through my skin. My skin protected me.

Jesus understands our flesh. He still lives in flesh like ours. 

He grasps the danger of worry. How it separates us from Him and the life He offers us. 

He filled us with His Spirit so we can let go. 

What worry consumes you? What worry wakes you up and wants to take you on walks?

Give that worry to Jesus today. Rest in His Spirit’s grip on you. 

The Spirit in you is stronger than the world around you.