My 15-year-old grandson took a high school psychology class and began diagnosing each family member with a mental disorder. When I asked him about mine, he said, “Anxiety.” I laughed because I’m generally a glass-half-full kind of person. I trust God for the future.

Yet I admit that I do secretly worry about what will happen when my three-year cancer treatment plan ends. I worry about my children who have already lost their father to cancer. I worry about my husband having another heart attack. I worry about my dad’s grief and loneliness after losing my mom and then my stepmom.

What secret worries linger in the back of your mind?

We can imagine Jesus lovingly shaking his head at all of our what-ifs, and asking the rhetorical question “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Jesus teaches us not to waste time with such concerns but instead to “seek first the kingdom” of God. We can focus on living out the gospel, sharing it with others, and maximizing the time we are given.

Jesus challenges us to have faith and to trust that the Father knows exactly what we need. Rather than fret, we are invited to surrender our stress to Jesus. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,” he says, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).