A 1977 Mel Books movie by that name describes what I perceive as the phenomenon prevalent in our household these past few weeks. Suzanne and I are both suffering from what I assume is anxiety as we continue to wait and wait for definitive answers and the next steps that will dictate our lives.

As I went into ‘Internet Doctor’ mode to see what I could find, I discovered there was no easy explanation of our emotions. In Fact, everything seemed to point to a huge medical disorder.

But like I find too often when I’m in ‘ID’ mode, simple is not what you usually get, at least in the first results. After reading, searching, and digging deeper, I finally found what I was looking for, and it surprised me, we are just plain normal.

"Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion."

The normal part I get, although I have a number of friends who aren’t so sure about my normalcy ( you know who you are ) But, I’m just not sure why it’s ‘healthy’; my stomach is in knots, I don’t feel like eating sometimes, and getting motivated to start a new project sometimes takes a little mental push.

Who wouldn’t be anxious in this situation? The reality is I think Suzanne is doing remarkably well considering the life altering / threatening position she is in.

For me, I guess it’s just dealing with the fact that I can’t help with or change what we face. When Suzanne tore her ACL, I could easily see that it could be fixed; When she blew out her L5 disk and suffered in pain, I could see that it could be fixed and move on; When she lost sight in her eye, I could see that she was able to function in life again. Being able to plan and see what lies in store is somehow in my DNA.

With this one, I can work through all the minutia of life; Making sure she gets her meds; Feeding is on time and what she needs; Being the cheerleader for activities and exercise. But this one is different. I’m just not sure what I see in our future. That unknowing weighs on a person, any person, even if you are Alfred E Newman.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7