It was just a few weeks ago, when I was going to bed stressed out
over all the things I had to do the next day. I had a big meeting with a
client, a ton of errands to run, a meeting at the kid’s school, an evening
workshop to teach and a long list of emails to write. My mind was racing
and I had a hard time sleeping.
The next morning my daughter came downstairs. I had everything
prepped for her. Her breakfast was on the table, her lunch was made and
her backpack was packed. I was ready for the morning race to get her off
to school on time. But instead of getting ready for school I was rushing
her to the ER. She came downstairs that morning with her lips blue,
having cold sweats and her heart was racing. After a call to her
doctor we were off to the ER with concerns of her high heart rate.
While in that hospital room all I could think about was my baby
girl, and praying that everything would be all right. There she was,
scared of all the machines and poking and prodding. I was so scared for
her, but somehow I found a strength I never knew I had to hold back my fear and
crazy thoughts and focus only on getting her through this.
That day we were admitted into the hospital for observation.
All the stressing the night before was for nothing. I didn’t get to run
those errands or get to the meeting at the kids' school. I didn’t get to teach
the evening workshop or write the long list of emails. I had something
much more important to worry about...the health of my daughter. That
night, instead of stressing over the next day's events, I was praying and
counting my blessings. Blessings that I found even in that crazy
day. I was grateful for the doctors and nurses that helped my
daughter. I was grateful for the Life’s Work volunteers who brought her
gifts and crafts that made her smile. I was grateful for a private room
and all the get well wishes we were given. I was grateful for all the
prayer warriors who had my daughter in their thoughts.
Thank goodness my daughter was discharged the next day. She
ended up having a virus and dehydration that made her heart rate so high.
That crazy day taught me a lesson: It is never worth worrying over things that
haven’t happened yet. It’s actually a waste of time and
energy. Instead, when I start to get that little voice creeping in my
head with the million things I need to do the next day, I stop myself. I
start to look at all the blessings I have had in my day. Things that have
actually happened and I choose to focus on that. This reminds me of a great quote by Mary Engelbreit "Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it's troubles, it empties today of it's strength." Why worry about things
that may never actually happen? I learned to be grateful for the rays of
sunshine in my day and to focus on those blessings, because what you focus on
grows and that’s what I want more of in my life.
By Juarline Stavrinos
