There are things in life that you just come to expect. I come to expect my kids to get up early every day no matter what time they go to bed the night before. I expect that one of my kids will get sick or injure themselves on a trip. I expect that teenagers will complain about being tired, even when they don’t do anything the entire day. I expect there to be tons of traffic on the Cape in the summer. These things are a normal, expected part of life.
I bring this up because there is something I just don’t understand. What is with the obsession with heat in the summer and sharks in the ocean? All winter long people complain about how cold it is and how they can’t wait until summer and then when summer comes they complain about how hot they are. Isn’t heat a normal and welcomed part of summer? How else are the tourist spots going to make money if they weather isn’t nice? How enjoyable is the beach when the air temperature is 35 degrees?
Then there is the obsession with sharks being in the ocean. I must admit that I roll my eyes at this because I love shark week on the Discovery Channel and think they are misunderstood. If nothing else, shark week makes me some sort of expert. Well, maybe not an expert but I have watched a lot of shows about sharks. I know enough to recognize that there will be sharks in the ocean and you will not necessarily get eaten by one. In fact, I can guarantee that the vast majority of you will not get eaten by a shark. All the media hype about them are somewhat over the top because it really isn’t that uncommon to have sharks in the water looking for food and people in the water looking for recreation.
These obsession create worry that doesn’t need to be there. Sort of like the obsession my kids have with daddy-long-legs. They think they see them everywhere and that these spiders will morph into tarantulas and hurt them. On Sunday my 2-year-old son told me he didn’t want to get into his toy car because there are daddy-long-legs in there. To his credit there was one in there, but even after I got that one he still didn’t want to go in there. Why? “Because there might be more daddy-long-legs.” No matter how many times I tell them that daddy-long-legs will not hurt them, they still scream like they have been shot whenever they see one.
As ridiculous as that notion sounds to rational adults, it is the same concept that people use for sharks or heat. It is warm outside, so I won’t go out. There are sharks in the water, so I won’t swim. It turns out to be silly to live like that because worry doesn’t actually solve anything. In fact, evidence suggests that worry actually decreases life span because of the stress it puts on the body.
Each day presents its own challenges and joys. Every day has something to learn from and grow in. We don’t need to waste time buying trouble when each day has enough of its own. Does that sound familiar?
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”- Matthew 6:34 (Jesus)
This day is a great day no matter what happens because God is still on His throne. Sharks, spiders, heat or anything else cannot change that. Enjoy today because you might not have a tomorrow.
No Throw Aways 
Thanks for the reminder 🙂
It is easily forgotten, at least around here with all the media about sharks. Good grief. It is the ocean!