With my college career ending in a couple of weeks, assignments piling up from all the time I put them off, not having a job or even a graduate school chosen yet, and being sleep deprived, you could definitely say I’m stressing and worrying about a lot these days. I’ve been worrying so much that I’m questioning if all this stress and worry is worth this piece of paper. I went into a depression of sorts, you could say. But in the midst of all that hell and calamity going on in my head, it seemed like God reminded me of something He tells us all, 

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything pray.” 

What got me thinking about this was a song we’ve all heard and even joked about growing up because of the simplicity and catchiness of its tune: Bobby McFerrin’s hit record, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (1988). It seems like a simple hook for a song, but it actually speaks volumes to my situation, as well as others’ situations – personal or otherwise. It’s not bad to worry. We’re human for crying out loud. We have feelings and get upset when things don’t seem to be going the way we pictured or arriving at the time we want and expect them to. But it becomes bad and ultimately, to our detriment when we worry so much that we can’t sleep, eat, or think straight, and when even our moods and mental well-being are ruined. That’s what’s been happening to me a lot lately. But McFerrin’s song, you could say, broke me out of my funk for a second and allowed me to check myself. It reminded me that no amount of worrying and stressing about things you can’t control is going to magically change the future. But trying to fix or work on the things that you can control can lessen the stress that you have on your shoulders and in your head.

I feel like that’s why God constantly reminds us to lean and rely on him for everything in our lives and to trust and stay close to Him moment by moment, 

because the second we let go of his hand, that’s when doubt, depression, and every other negative type of thinking of the world creeps into our minds and gets us off the path God has already planned for us. 

It all comes down to faith, where yours falls, and how well we are able to exercise our faith even when we’re uncertain of what’s next and waiting on God. If you’re struggling, I’m right there with you, if not, doing worse in this area than you are. What helps me is remembering the countless times where, some way, somehow, He came through on something I needed. However, it all started with that thought of having faith in something that I can’t see or feel to get something I truly needed and still knowing that God was going to provide it. So I leave you with the wise words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”