Tears filled my eyes as I flipped over a page on my desk calendar to reveal today\u2019s date: September 13. The first anniversary of my husband John\u2019s death. I missed him fiercely, and the calendar\u2019s daily inspirational messages often lifted my spirits when I was feeling particularly upset. I checked the day\u2019s message. The page read: \u201cDeath is a new adventure in existence. No need to dread it or ignore it. Because of Christ, you can face it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just the sort of thing I needed to remember. Life without John was hard on me. I\u2019m a born worrier\u2014John called me his \u2018little worry wonk.\u2019 I stressed over everything\u2014public speaking obligations, the deadlines I faced in my job as a journalist, the safety of my friends and family. \u201cRelax,\u201d John always said. \u201cIf something is out of your control, worrying just wastes your time. You\u2019re letting negative thoughts overwhelm you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew he was right, and I\u2019d calm down\u2014until I found something new to fret about. After John passed away, the grief only compounded my stress. I missed his soothing words of wisdom.<\/p>\n
I stared at the page of the calendar. What a coincidence that this message came today, of all days,<\/em> I thought. I should save it.<\/em><\/p>\n I tore September 13 from the calendar and held the page in my hand. That\u2019s when I noticed the date printed on the other side. April 19.<\/p>\n John\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n I turned the page over and read the message. \u201cDestructive anxiety subtracts God from the future, faces uncertainties with no faith, tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation. Worry is the darkroom in where negatives become glossy prints.\u201d<\/p>\n Exactly the words John would want his little worry wonk to hear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tears filled my eyes as I flipped over a page on my desk calendar to reveal today\u2019s date: September 13. The first anniversary of my husband John\u2019s death. I missed him fiercely, and the calendar\u2019s daily inspirational messages often lifted my spirits when I was feeling particularly upset. I checked the day\u2019s message. The page […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":29771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[376],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[921],"class_list":["post-22253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-managing-life-changes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n