The Mosquitos of Emotion

Fear, Worry, & Anxiety

It has taken me a long time to appreciate every emotion.

I don’t like them all, mind you, but at this point I have studied and wrestled with the concept of emotion enough that I understand they all have purpose, usefulness, and even goodness somewhere in there (sometimes deep down).

I write about emotions and study concepts related to them most days. They touch everything in their annoying little way. They also bring vibrancy to everything in their way. Life is less dull with emotions, as inconvenient as they may be. Life is more meaningful because we can feel - the breeze, a lover, carbonation on our tongue, a hug, the vibration of laughter.

Anxiety is an emotion most of us have a hard time seeing as good or even useful in any way. Fear, anxiety, and worry are more the mosquitos of our emotion, than the butterflies. Missouri summers were filled with mosquitos. Running through the sprinkler, visiting the town pool, sitting around the campfire, it was perpetually hot, humid, mucky, and bitey. Michigan summers have far less mosquito action, but they arrive every July like clockwork for their 3-4 weeks of vengence and a taste for blood.

Anxiety, whether you have loads of it or just a little, a lifetime or a season, nibbles. This persistant emotion, who wants to be heard and seen, often feels too close to the blood sucking, time sucking, and energy sucking of the seemingly pointless mosquito.

Yet, both these have their purposes, whether we see it or not. Finding their purposes through their annoyance is challenging, and maybe it’s the therapist in me, but it’s a challenge I am here for. I think we can find God and connection in the weirdest places, the darkest places, and the most annoying places in suprising and insight-filled ways.

I’d love to help you sort through the usefulness and God-connections of anxiety, not to solve it, but to see God through and within it. You can find my study on Fear, Worry, and Anxiety for free. May it help your anxiety feel heard and seen, because that’s what most of us need in our mental health - a little love, a little validation, and a whole lot of understanding.

You can download the free study in partnership with The Youth Ministry offices of the Lutheran Church (LCMS) at this link: Anxiety Study.