And It Came To Pass ...

AND IT CAME TO PASS

As I stared out the rear window of the bus, I thought, 'What if I
die? This may be my last night ever.'

At the last minute, we decided to take an all-night bus through the
Peruvian Andes down to the coast. Now I was being driven over high
mountain passes and on winding, too-narrow and (I was certain)
unsafe roads. We live in the Rocky Mountains of western United
States. But still I was not prepared for roads too narrow for
on-coming traffic to pass by. Every time another vehicle hurled
toward us, one of us was forced to pull over and let the other by.
Nor was I ready for the supersonic speeds at which our bus rollicked
around hairpin curves, or an all-night white-knuckle ride on a
too-often unpaved shoulder-less mountain road carved out of the side
of sheer vertical slopes lost in clouds. And I wasn't ready to die -
at least not that particular night.

I thought that maybe I could sleep during the trip, but all the
anxiety of what reminded me of an out of control amusement park ride
kept me staring out into the night as if by sheer will power I could
keep the bus upright. 'What if we crash?' I thought, and began to
count all the possible ways this bus would slide off the
mountainside. I worried about the driver, who was apparently working
a 12-hour shift. What if he fell asleep? My mind was just too filled

with "what ifs..." to find rest. I needed an antidote to worry.

Then I remembered five comforting words: "And it came to pass..."
Not coincidently, the phrase is found throughout the Bible. It's an
intriguing phrase..."and it came to pass." I've never read, "And it
came to stay." It's always, "And it came to pass..."

Whenever I have encountered problems over the years, they came to
pass. My anxieties and worries also came to pass. In fact, I have
forgotten most of the fears that once kept me awake over the years.
I've learned that most of my toughest times and seemingly impossible
situations are not forever. And sufficient strength can be found for
those few that may linger a while.

Besides, what could I do? The bus would either make it or not. Like
New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Rivers once said, "Ain't no sense
in worrying about things you got control over, 'cause if you got
control over them, ain't no sense worrying. And there ain't no sense
worrying about things you got no control over, 'cause if you got no
control over them, ain't no sense worrying about them."

So I rested in the peace that, like most of what I worry about, this
will come to pass. And before long, the sun rose on a beautiful
Peruvian landscape. It was true, my worries came to pass.

Can the same be said about problems that worry you?