Take a Deep Breath. Relax. He’s Got You.

I read a quote once that said “worry means you forget God has it all planned.” 

Those words made a strong impression on me. Days later, the quote was still with me and made me reflect on how often I've let worry take over. I’ve worried about what the next steps in my life are. I’ve worried about how people perceive me. I’ve worried about the personal struggles my family members face. I’ve worried about whether I'm doing anything right. But at the end of the day, worrying doesn’t accomplish anything – it doesn’t move you forward. 

God’s plan is always the best plan.

I remember being a teenager and training at my pre-professional ballet company. The new season was approaching, and I was anxiously waiting to hear if I had been advanced to the Senior level in the company. I had spent the previous year attending my classes consistently, training over the summer, and steadily improving my stage performance. I thought I was the perfect candidate to progress. 

When the results came, I was devastated. I had not moved up to be in the Senior company. To make matters worse, I was the only one from my level who hadn’t advanced. I thought I had failed. My goal had not been met when I had set such specific plans and followed through on all of them. I didn’t know what more could have been expected of me.  Worry set in and I couldn’t make it stop.

What was all my effort for? Was it overlooked? What could I have done more? 

Sure, this was a setback to my plan and all that I had been working towards the last year. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The girls who joined my level became some of my best friends. Because there weren’t as many of us, we each got individual attention in class and progressed faster. This allowed me and my new friends to confidently move to the higher level the following season. God knew what the plan was all along. It just took me a while to see and understand it. And it turned out to be far better than I could have created it to be.

God is always aware of the bigger picture and we often forget that. I later was able to answer the questions that weighed on my mind constantly. 

• What was all my work for? It wasn’t wasted. It was just used at a different time than I expected. Had I not been working so hard, I would not have progressed the way I needed to to become the dancer I am now. 

• Was all my effort overlooked? I hoped so much that my setback was just a mistake and that my directors would remember how much work I dedicated to this talent. I felt ignored and that my effort had gone unacknowledged. That said, God hadn’t overlooked a single moment of the attention I put into my dancing. 

• What could I have done more? I’m sure I could have done several things differently. Regardless, it all aligned how it needed to, allowing me to grow and succeed the way I needed to. 

It has now been a few years since that specific ballet season. When I look back, I am quite proud of how much I grew after that experience. I never became a professional ballerina and I don’t have an incredible story of how I was the lead in a show. Even so I remain one of the few alumni of both groups I danced with who continues to dedicate time and effort to developing my talent as a ballerina. Later in life, I am still grateful for this experience. It has helped me nurture the characteristic of determination in dance, school & in all I do and has exercised my humility to let God lead. 

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things”

- Matthew 25:21-

God sees every need. 

One of the most extraordinary women in history is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Called to be the mother of the Savior of the world while still very young, she carried a responsibility unlike any other—a sacred mantle with eternal weight. As it's human nature to worry, I often wonder what might have crossed her mind in quiet moments:

Am I worthy enough? What does God see in me? I’ve never been a mom before. What if I mess something up or am not who my child needs me to be?

While scripture doesn’t tell us much about Mary’s life in detail, one thing is clear: because she trusted in God’s plan, everything unfolded according to His will. Mary’s story is a profound reminder that He provides exactly what we need when we place our faith in Him. 

He sent the angel, Gabriel, to not only inform her of her purpose but to comfort her. He sent her Joseph - a righteous husband who cared for and protected her. She was surrounded by Christ’s disciples who honored and cared for her. And in His final moments on the cross, Jesus saw to her care. 

God didn’t only care and focus on what Mary needed to do for Jesus to fulfill His mission - God also cared for Mary and her needs. In the same way, God sees your needs too. He knows your fears, your doubts, your responsibilities, and desires. As you help fulfill His work in your own way, He won’t forget to take care of you, too.

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” 

- Doctrine & Covenants 6:36 -

God has been and will always be there. 

I know there are times that I have forgotten - and still forget - that God and Jesus Christ are right there. I forget that they are present 24/7 ready for whatever need I have. So did the disciples. 

After Christ taught the people he was with, He and the disciples boarded a small boat. While out on the water of the Sea of Galilee, a storm came. This specific storm not only had strong winds and large waves, but was so violent that water quickly started to flood the boat.  I cannot imagine how much panic the disciples experienced as they physically, even a little spiritually, began to sink. Here they were trying to safely cross a body of water and a massive storm came. One question that must have crossed each of their minds had to be:

Are we going to make it through? 

I can envision the scene - several men rushing and shouting on a small ship desperately trying to secure belongings on board and get water out. It’s not until moments later that they rush to Jesus and wake Him from His sleep. Once awake, the disciples start all speaking at once asking why He was so calmly sleeping in the chaos. Christ then stands and calls out to the sea, “Peace, be still.” And all at once, everything became calm. The wind, the water, and the disciples.

Wouldn’t it be incredible to simply call out to Jesus and have every worry, problem, tragedy, etc suddenly eased? It would be amazing! However, just because something hard comes along or we start fearing the possibilities of the future doesn’t mean we should ignore them in hopes of them disappearing. It means that we face them with assurance that we are not alone. We have to remember Christ is with us on our little boat and we can rely on Him. 

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

- Luke 12:32 -

How can I learn how to stop worrying?

Worry is part of being human. It's unavoidable - but it shouldn’t consume us or take up our time. 

Instead, fill your mind with peace and eternal thinking. It can take some practice to make it a habit, especially when stressful things come. Just remember, if Christ can calm a violent storm in the middle of a sea, He can help calm your mind. 

A space where I personally feel peace is in art museums and galleries. Being surrounded by beautiful paintings, sculptures, pottery, etc seems to pause all sense of time. When in exhibits, I love observing the detail or artist’s imprint - the brush strokes, the paint impression on the canvas, or the intricacy of the chisel in marble work. No two are alike. 

An artistic era that resonates with many people is Neo-Impressionism. This era relies less on realism and more on an expressive presentation, allowing the viewer to visually feel an emotion from the artwork. A well known artist from this era is Georges Seurat. 

Seurat was revolutionary at this time in history, composing scenes with only dots of color. These dots, about 2 millimeters in diameter, harmonize subtly into shapes, shadows, landscapes, and people.

Upon observing art by Georges Seurat, Elder Dieter F. Utchdorf compared the canvas covered in colorful dots to our lives. 

When one looks closely and only sees dots, there may be speculation on what one is actually looking at. However, upon backing up, each dot plays an important role. Elder Utchdorf says:

 “We can’t see any order to [the dots when looking closely]. We can’t imagine that they have a purpose at all. However, when we step back and take an eternal perspective, when we look at our lives in the frame of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can begin to see how the various dots in our lives interconnect. We may not be able to see the entire picture just yet, but with patience we can see enough to trust that there is a beautiful, grand design.”

It was never a commandment to worry or to fill our time trying to stop worrying by being busy, ignoring what is going on, or to do everything perfectly. We are on earth not to do everything perfectly to gain His love or attention. We are on earth to do our best and abide in His love. Again, “worry means you forget God has it all planned.” 

God’s plan is always the grand design and He sees every need. There’s no need to worry. Take a deep breath. Relax. He’s got you.