ATTENTION: ALL FRETTERS!

ATTENTION: ALL FRETTERS!
Thursday, October 29, 2020 by Leona Choy

A FRESH SLICE OF DAILY BREAD

FRET isn't a word this generation commonly uses. Babies fret. We say that an infant is fretful when he or she restlessly half-cries, half-whines. She continually makes unhappy, complaining snivels. The baby doesn't respond to comforting, just keeps on whimpering. Moms can tell the difference between annoying fretting and colic-like, piercing, painful cries that really do demand attention. Fretting is more like nagging, irritating, staccato noises that don’t seem to be serious but nevertheless grate on your nerves.

Could fretting be something that adults are also guilty of? Surely not Christians. Is there a mirror around?

The dictionary defines fretting as "being excessively worried, anxious, vexed, irked, troubled, consumed by an emotion that wears you down and erodes your contentment.” Those aren't becoming attitudes for a trusting child of God. Jesus diagnosed it as “heart trouble” and commanded us, “Let not your heart be troubled….”

I’m ashamed to admit that more than occasionally, I do catch myself fretting. At times I act more like a spiritual infant than a seasoned Christian well along in years. My Heavenly Father can’t be pleased to hear such noises from me.

What is fretting like when it's committed by grownup children? It's a mental attitude. Fretting equals worry. We find ourselves going over and over a certain matter in our minds like a broken record. We can’t seem to turn it off. Usually it isn’t some colossal issue but something inconsequential that is bothering no one else but ourselves. We sweat the small stuff. We feel edgy and bothered about something that is usually trivial. Nevertheless, it annoys us, “gnaws” at us. That analogy is vividly accurate—fretting “eats away” at our peace. We feel it deep down in our stomach. Fretting is like a spiritual ulcer of worry that corrodes healthy tissue.

Fretting brings with it more negative attitudes dressed in the costumes of my personal Seven Dwarfs—Touchy, Crabby, Cranky, Cross, Peevish, Testy and Huffy. They may look small, but they cause giant problems. They sneak up on me unawares and disable me from being an effective witness to my Christian faith. When I fret, I confess that at my core I’m impatient. That isn't one of the fruits of the Spirit. No wonder fret is a four letter word to avoid. It's the antithesis of peace, harmony, contentment and docility to the will of God.

I have a hard time waiting for things to happen in God’s time. My lifetime temperament is impulsive. I act in the fast lane; I fret because I can’t make things happen fast enough anymore because I'm calendar-challenged. Fretting seems to come on even stronger with the aging package.

In Psalm 37 King David used the word fret three times. “Fret not yourself…” It was a negative command, not a polite suggestion. To fret or not to fret is obviously under my own control. No one puts fret on me. I cook it up myself. I “boil in my own stew,” so to speak. I'm wasting my breath if I pray for God to stop me from fretting. Rather, I have to take myself by the scruff of my neck and simply stop doing it! By an act of my will I must refuse to fret and replace it with something else. What should I substitute for my frequent penchant to fret? Should I tape an eleventh commandment on my bathroom mirror? “Thou shalt not fret!”

King David doesn’t leave me without a better solution:

“Fret not yourself…[rather] Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He will do it—in His due time. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Fret not yourself, it will only harm you…” (Psalm 37: 4, 5, 7, 8). That’s a loaded passage of Scripture worthy of serious meditation to unpack all its implications. Best of all, such wisdom and obedient action on my part are guaranteed to stop in their tracks those cantankerous Seven Dwarfs when they try to march in my door whistling a fret song.

It might also help if I stop putting FRET on my Welcome Mat!

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Comments

Lisa Meadows From Stanley At 11/3/2020 8:58:56 AM

Wow! Wonderful! Thank you!

Reply by: Leona Choy

God bless you, Lisa, and may the Lord's face shine upon you (smile on you with pleasure) and give you peace about something that is giving you anxiety.

Roger Warda From Macomb Two. MI At 10/30/2020 2:43:07 PM

Michigan governor insists everyone dining inside a restaurant must complete an entrance document listing: name, address, and phone no. I hope people as outraged as I am send letters to the governor telling her, "Keep your fretful anxieties to yourself, and leave my life alone."

Reply by: Leona Choy

Outrage should be genuine. Recording names to be used in the future plans to control the population's activities.

Cathy From At 10/30/2020 10:42:59 AM

THANK You, Leona! LOVE your slant on that similar phrase "Pray More ~ Worry Less". Delight yourself in the Lord is a beautiful phrase indeed!!!

Reply by: Leona Choy

A hearty AMEN to that. I think of the lovely autumn landscape in Lancaster County when I hear from you, Cathy. I miss just jumping in the car and heading up that way and visiting with your dear Mom. How I miss her!

Mary Ellen From Birmingham At 10/30/2020 10:27:27 AM

Thank you, Leona! So timely, especially with concerns about the results of the coming election! Praying for truth and justice to triumph!

Reply by: Leona Choy

Tomorrow I have a blog post for election week from all of Psalm 37 so relevant for whatever the outcome.

Mary Ellen From Birmingham At 10/30/2020 10:27:26 AM

Thank you, Leona! So timely, especially with concerns about the results of the coming election! Praying for truth and justice to triumph!

Reply by: Leona Choy

Dear Lord, have mercy upon our land which deserves your judgment for our national sins were we to receive His justice.

Heiko Elsinga From The Netherlands At 10/30/2020 5:42:35 AM

Dearest Leona! Thank you for your message about fretting. I truly appreciated receiving it from you, for I know that if I don't keep my eyes on the Lord I won't have the delight and the rest from the Lord in my heart! God bless you, Leona. I thank God for you!

Reply by: Leona Choy

So good to hear from you, my friend from afar! Tomorrow we'll go into the depths of the marvelous Psalm 37 so relevant for our election in this country and the outcome thereafter. Pray for God's will to be done on our spot on earth as it is done in Heaven.I pray that you are well, my brother in Christ.May God smile upon you.

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