Fret Not

My Scripture reading this morning included the first phrase of Psalm 37 which says, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers…”

I wish the Bible told me exactly HOW I’m supposed to fret not!

Not a clue!

Thursday both Jennifer and Patricia called assuring me that Patricia’s drug addiction is being managed.

We’ll see.

Patty sounded bright and cheerful and optimistic.

But, I worked in a half-way house with drug addicts even before she was born, and I fret. With an addict you can never be sure if you are talking to the person or to the drug. So everything must be heard with cautious optimism or outright skepticism. Especially when dealing with someone you deeply care about, your hopeful heart only wants to hear the best and tune out signs of deceit. Besides, over the years, she has mastered twinning Daddy around her little finger and she knows how to push every one of my buttons.

But, The Lord tells me to Fret Not.

I sure wish He’d have included specific instructions about how to do that.

I’m confident that the Lord Jesus will help us get through this but, naturally, I’m leery about the whole process.

Living with faith can be scary.

Oh, in case you haven’t noticed, I stand among the world’s foremost fretters, especially in areas where my children are concerned.

I not only fret for Patricia herself but for all the rest of us as well. Drug use by one member hits the rest of the family like an airplane in the side of the World Trade tower. Collateral damage, I think they call it.

Last night Ginny and I enjoyed an outing with Donald and Helen. They presented me with a packet of tobacco for my pipe — but I won’t be able to smoke it for months. It’s tobacco seeds which I can plant and grow my own.

I’m about to become a farmer.

Whoot!

We roasted hotdogs over an open fire in their backyard, toasted marshmallows, and talked for a couple of hours while watching the moon rise as the fire died down.

Of course Beauty and I regaled Helen with stories of Donald’s childhood designed to embarrass him. Great fun.

We also discussed the impact of Patricia’s drug use and we talked about how to protect ourselves from the possible legal, emotional, financial, health and moral implications. Donald seems to be hit harder by this than the rest of us.

We are one injured bunch of bunnies.

We will continue to strive to help Patricia, without enabling her drug habit — but it is really hard to juggle those two bombs in the air. I mean why help pay for an education for someone who’s sickening her own brain?

But, that’s getting into fretting again.

We also talked about their plans to establish an internet business and about how to market my books more effectively. Looks as though my work-in-progress needs to see print as a hardback, and Helen says she will help me design a wrap-around cover — something neither of us have tried before.

My December sales showed a marked increase from the previous quarter but are still nothing to brag about. Many thanks to those of you who bought one of my books; I hope you enjoy my work and find it helpful in your own Christian life..

After we left Helen & Donald’s, we drove around to see some spectacular Christmas lights on streets Eve had told us about. One guy had hooked a computer to his light and sound system which caused portions of the lighting to flash and throb in time to the music. Delightful.

Back home, we watched something or another on tv for a while — trying not to fret.