Anxiety to Peace to Contentment

This is the journey I am on.

I always knew I had a tendency to worry.  As a little kid, I wouldn't be able to fall asleep at night if there were things that I was worried about.  I would have to talk about it with my parents before I was able to let it go and catch some zzz's.  It followed me all the way through junior high too.  I can remember one time that I was so nervous because I was a 7th grader and there were older 9th graders that smoked in the girls bathroom (yes, I'm being for real), and they didn't want us in the bathrooms, so they would yell at us to get out.  I had a fear of not being able to use the bathroom between classes (and I was afraid of these girls women!!!!)  My parents had to talk with me and pray with me before I could fall asleep, and I'm pretty sure that some parental involvement/advocating/action was taken in the following days to remedy that ridiculous situation.  Oh Robinson Junior High, you were an interesting place.

So back on track...worrying has always been something I struggle with I suppose.  I've always just called it being realistic.  I never really thought of it as disobedience.  I just thought that optimistic people all had their heads stuck in the clouds and were just totally unrealistic (which--let's be honest--can be the case, but NOT always).  I felt like if I thought about things ahead of time, I was being prudent, aware, and much more able to make good decisions when the time came.

I'm not so sure all of this was true.  I think I was actually allowing and justifying my anxiety. God does not give us the Holy Spirit so that we can live a life of fear.  We are called to be courageous because the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9b). 

So how does this translate into my life today? 

-Rather than being anxious, I'm praying--constantly.  (Philippians 4:6-7)  I am doing this out of obedience.  So often prayer is our last resort rather than our first instinct.  I know I need to continue to work on this.
-Trust that God's plan is better than my own. (Isaiah 55:9)
-Live boldly, act courageously, and not live life on pause waiting for "real life" to kick in. (John 10:10)  I want to live life to the fullest.  The abundant life might not look the same for all of us, and that's ok.  I just want to live my life to the fullest for the Lord.
-I'm also reading a great book called Calm My Anxious Heart that has really had a HUGE impact on me and how I view worry, anxiety, peace, and contentment.  (PS-If you are the randomly thoughtful stranger that sent it to me in the mail anonymously, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!)  It is such a great book!!! 

Any thoughts? 

Do any of you have these same struggles with worry and fear?