When I was a little girl, watching Superman with my brother topped the list of my favorite things. He was so cool and sly when he changed from Clark Kent into the super hero. I seriously worried someone might walk in the bathroom or broom closet when he was taking off his reporter suit. What even concerned me more was the bad guys would know his one weakness ... kryptonite. Why did I count the days to watch something that made me so nervous?

The one thing that scared Superman was kryptonite. It would cause him to loose all his super powers. The criminals seemed to always come up with a big kryptonite chunk in the middle of a daring rescue and Superman was rendered helpless. Somehow Lois Lane or the intern Jimmy managed to show up and get rid of the kryptonite. I always thought they secretly knew he was really Clark Kent but didn’t want to spoil it for everyone else; kind of like older siblings not spilling the beans about Santa Claus.

The bottom line; even Superman is afraid of something. We all have fears, doubts and worries. The challenge is how to handle them. I listened to a conference call, town meeting held by Congressman Roy Blundt a few years ago. He was answering citizens’ questions. One woman called in and asked, “Mr. Blundt, I want to know if we should be more afraid of the Bird Flu or the terrorists?” At first I thought she was kidding, but she was serious.

He gave a very calming, politically correct answer about our diligent Centers for Disease Control and the heightened national security which seemed to satisfy her. I was so tempted to call in and suggest she be scared on Monday, Wednesday and Friday about Bird Flu and on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday worry about the terrorists. Take a break on Sunday. I chickened out.

My nine-month-old grandson, Smith, had to undergo surgery the other day on one of his “man-parts”. All decked out in the holding area outside the operating room he looked like he was dressed up to be a super hero. He was very brave. He didn’t look too particularly afraid or worried. He left that up to his Mom and Dad.

Did you know that less than six percent of what we are afraid of and worry about ever happens? That is a 94% chance of it not happening. Clark Kent never got caught and I bet the woman on the phone never got Bird Flu. We would be better off if we considered the odds. Besides fear and worry use up a lot of valuable energy.

So take note from Smith: be brave, enjoy the day, and leave the worry to someone else.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you...” Psalm 55:22