This afternoon I am going to the hospital to have a a lithotripsy procedure.  It is a process where a doctor uses sonic waves to blast and break up a kidney stone inside your kidney so that you can more easily pass it.  I choose my words carefully there and said “more easily pass it” rather than “pass it easily” because if you have ever passed a kidney stone you know that even the small ones don’t pass easily.  I have never heard of anyone going to the bathroom, giggling and saying, “Well I’ll be, I just passed a kidney stone.”  Nope, doesn’t happen.  I had a lithotripsy two years ago for a stone that as I recall was about 9 millimeters in size and some of the fragments that I passed in the ensuing days were 2 millimeters in size.  There was no giggling involved.  Apparently this current stone is only about 5 millimeters in size – passable enough but it is shaped like the state of Louisiana.  Because it is shaped like the state of Louisiana it would probably feel like about the same size as Louisiana – so my doctor recommended breaking it up.  I readily agreed.

Kidney stones are a problem and like most problems when they get too big you can more easily deal with them if you break them up into more manageable chunks.  It’s that way with most of our big problems, oftentimes they can become overwhelming in scope but if we can just find a way to break them down and deal with them in smaller segments we will find that we can get through it.  I have talked with people before who worry and wonder how they are going to get through the next year or the next month and I try to lovingly share with them that they are asking the wrong question and tackling too big of a problem.  Yes, plan and strategize long term but realize that we only have to make it through one day at a time.  We only have to make it through one day at a time because we are only given one day at a time.  I love what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34

Matt 6:34   “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Lord was not telling us not to plan or prepare long term but rather He was telling us to trust in Him on a daily basis.  He was telling us to take our troubles, our trials and break them down into manageable chunks and daily give them to Him.  If you read Matthew chapter 6 this week, I know that you will be blessed.  Jesus tells us where to place our priorities so that we don’t have to worry or be dismayed.  I hope that you have a good week and I hope that you know that God loves you.  Until next time stay strong in the faith.