The movie Jaws has kept me out of the ocean since the 70’s. Watched I Am Prey today and after that made a longer list of things not to do…no mountain hiking, no ocean snorkeling, no African photo safaris, no river swimming, no Alaskan fishing trips, no secluded trail walking, no blackberry picking in Blue Ridge. Was at Hilton Head several years ago riding a bike by a large ditch of water where an alligator had wolfed down a lap dog, leash and all, the week before. Broke a sweat each time we rode by that place hoping the back wheel of my adult trike would not bump off the sidewalk and send me into the alligator water. I’m serious! I always was planning my escape if I fell in the water hoping I could out run the alligator.

Guess we all have things we’re afraid of and most of them never come to fruition but that doesn’t keep us from worrying. Corrie Ten Boom writes, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” Worrying is defined as a “futile activity that drains our strength without solving the problem.” Glen Turner says, “Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” My feeling is if you can’t control or change things just place those worries in God’s hands. Prayer will bring peace as we transfer our troubles to God. Bible scripture in 1 Peter tells us to cast all our anxieties on God because he cares for us. My favorite scripture about turning our worries over to God is found in Philippians, Chapter 4. Verses 6-7 read, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

My Florida friend is a quote surfer, too, and sends me quotes often. One of my favorites is, “I’ve survived too many storms to be bothered by raindrops,” Unknown. I love this quote that speaks to our resilience in tough times. We all face trials and tribulations in life and with hard work and perseverance we weather these storms. Some are raging storms that test our faith and make us call out to God through our prayers, some are just raindrops that muddle our plans. Life’s storms give us the strength and confidence to see raindrops as small difficulties. There are always going to be raindrops in life but God’s grace and his wondrous sunshine can dry those raindrops up.

Emory Austin writes, “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” Sing anyway. I love that. We all have to persevere through our hardships even when we think we can’t go on. This quote makes me think of the songbirds who sing because they want to not because they have to. As a widow and a mother who has lost a child, I often have days where there is no song in my heart but through my faith I manage to at least hum my way through the day. I may not be singing loudly, but I’m humming and grateful for my many blessings. On days when there’s no song in your heart look to God to bring the music back. Psalms 95:1 reads, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.”

Suzy Kassem said, “If life throws a few bad notes or vibrations don’t let them interrupt or alter your song.” We’re all in charge of our dreams and we have the power to make them come true with faith and hard work. A few sour notes may slow our progress but through our faith we can tune our life to God’s ear. Those bad notes in our songs are all part of our glorious travels on earth. Psalms 57:7 reads, “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.”

Bible scripture says that all God’s creatures have a voice to sing. Psalm 105:2 says, “Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” There are new songs of thanks to sing to God every day for his power and presence in our lives. Our life songs ebb and flow through our lives. We’re not always on pitch but God will get us back on key and conduct us through life. Life should be lived like a beautiful melody, full of joy and expression.

“Life is a song, sing it.” — SaI Baba