Hiccups

8/1/2017

I Was Thinking…

A woman went to the doctor’s office where she was seen by one of the younger physicians. After approximately four minutes in the examination room, she burst forth from the room screaming and running down the hall. An older physician stopped her and asked what the problem was upon which she told him of her experience with the younger physician. After listening for several minutes he had her sit with a nurse to relax in another room.

It was then the older physician marched down the hallway to the younger physician’s office. “What’s the matter with you?” the older physician demanded. “Mrs. Reid is 64 years old, has four grown children and seven grandchildren, and you just told her she was pregnant?” To which the younger physician replied, “Does she still have the hiccups?”

How is it that distractions or a re-focus of our mind can cause hiccups to go away? I’m sure there must be some scientific reason for such a result. It has been my experience that when I try to rid myself of hiccups they only worsen. But if someone else causes my mind to stop thinking of these aggravating annoyances of the body, then they go away. My diaphragm muscle relaxes and I’m hiccup free.

There seems to be a lot of folks who are worried these days. They are worried about terrorism, healthcare, Social Security, the President, North Korea, Russia, our United Methodist denomination, family concerns, church concerns, paying the bills, their health, their spouse or friends health and the list goes on and on. It seems as though we have a severe case of ‘worry hiccups’ and they won’t go away. We need to re-focus.

It was Jesus who said “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6:34, Message)

The questions become “Do I believe Jesus’ words are true or not? What is God doing right now? Does God really concern God’s self with my little ole worries and challenges? Is God BIG enough and powerful enough to address our world’s biggest concerns?”

What are your ‘life hiccups’? God really is an amazing grace God who knows the number of hairs on our head and whose eye is on the sparrow. God is omnipresent…present with you and me everywhere and always. God is omnipotent…more powerful than the strongest of powers. God is omniscient…wiser than we could possibly imagine. When I stop to realize this I discover…my hiccups are gone.

Always Thinking…