I would rather do about anything than go to the doctor. In fact, if I tell my wife that I want to go to the doctor she gets really worried. I am one of those that toughs it out. I take care of myself, get plenty of rest and drink plenty of liquids, I just avoid going to the doctor. Please know that this has nothing to do with my doctor, he’s a good doctor. I just don’t like going unless I absolutely have to go. I went to the doctor a while back and he wanted me to take some medicine for something. I was good; I took my medicine and followed his directions. I am a good patient once I decide to go to the doctor. I went back for a follow up and I thought things were coming along. The doctor thought differently. We discussed the progress and moving forward. He suggested some medications with some serious side effects. They were rare, he pointed out, but they could happen. I asked for some time to think about what we would do about this relatively minor situation. As I drove home my peace left me and Worry came and sat with me in the car. Worry gave me all kinds of crazy things to think about on my way home. I tried to calmly think about what seemed to be such a minor thing in a rational way. When I went to bed and turned out the lights the darkness added a new dimension to my thinking. It was at that time that Worry invited a friend over: Fear. There I lay in bed, my thoughts stirring around, and Worry and Fear were having the time of their lives. I woke up and my first thoughts were provided by Worry and Fear. I unknowingly welcomed them to my morning routine. When I tried to have some quiet time, Distraction and Doubt came to join the party. I am not sure what I got out of reading God’s Word. I didn’t turn the Christian music on while driving to work, so my four passengers filled my thoughts. It wasn’t until that evening that I finally showed Fear, Worry, Distraction and Doubt the door. In the sudden quiet I turned to the Lord in prayer. God’s first question was, “Why didn’t you turn to me after your first doctor visit?” I said, “Well, it was such a minor thing, I didn’t want to bother you.” I know God has so much on His plate. There are soldiers in war zones, people fighting cancer, people who need help from abusive situations and people who are suffering from great loss. My little problem didn’t feel important enough for God. The medicine would take care of it. I imagine God wiped away a tear before He said, “Why do you think that I wouldn’t care? I know the number of hairs on your head…and that changes daily for you. I know your name; in fact, Jesus and I talk about you. We know your future because we have been planning it your whole life. You are so valuable to me, that Jesus willingly died so you and I could have a relationship. There is nothing in your life, big or small, that I don’t care about. I want you to come to me and tell me everything because I am your Father and I deeply love you and care about you.” I grew up thinking that God was busy. Sometimes those thoughts creep back in. I know better. I know God loves me, but I want to take care of myself. Why bother God, just take the medicine. I think we need to invite our loving Heavenly Father into every situation in our lives. He doesn’t want us to wait until we face a crisis before we call for help. I think each time we see God answer a prayer it builds our faith. We learn to trust Him in the small things so when the big things do come our way, our faith will anchor our soul. I want to encourage you to run to God with everything in your life. There is nothing too big or too small that we can’t go to our Father who loves us. Maybe we will have to take the medicine, but just maybe we will see a miracle. We don’t know until we ask. I want to be the kind of man who asks in faith, believing that my Father is listening and cares about every situation I face. So the next time, big or small, let’s all agree to first go to God in prayer. Doug Creamer writes a column about religion for The Stanly News & Press. Contact him at doug@dougcreamer. com.