With Christmas just a few weeks away, you may be planning a party or a big family dinner at your house during the holiday season. For most of us, as the day approaches, we feel the stress building. We want everything to be perfect, for everyone to have a great time. If you're like me, unless you make the decision to push pause for a moment and give these types of situations to God, knowing He is in control, your mind will start to spin with worry. It's interesting that the word "worry" comes from the Old English "wyrgan," which means "to strangle." It's so easy to let worry and stress take over and literally choke the joy out of our life.

In the Scripture, Jesus was coming to the home of the sisters Mary and Martha. They had been busy getting everything ready for Him. But after He arrived, as they were enjoying time with Jesus, Martha kept buzzing around with her to-do lists to the point where she told Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her. Can you believe she would say that to her guest of honor? Martha was experiencing "wyrgan" overload. Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at My feet. She is undistracted, and I won't take this privilege from her" (Luke 10:41--42).

Jesus wasn't saying that there weren't necessary things to be done. But think about it. Martha couldn't even enjoy the fact that Jesus was there. She was missing the whole beauty of the moment. She allowed the stress that was going on in her mind to strain her relationships with her loved ones. Jesus was saying, "There's one thing that's most important, Martha, and that's to sit at My feet, to be in My presence, and to receive My love."

The Bible says, "Let us lay aside every weight...which so easily ensnares us," so we can run with purpose the race God has set before us (Hebrews 12:1). There's a technique I've used that helps me do that when I feel stress building. I imagine myself putting all the concerns into a big red helium balloon, and then I release it to God and say, "God, thank You that You're bigger than all these troubles. I'm giving them to You, knowing You're going to take care of them."

So how are you doing with worry today? Do what works for you, but find a way to lay aside those cares, because Jesus will sustain you when you release them to Him.