Care Too Much?

"Is it possible to care about TOO MUCH?"

I will be the first person to admit, I can be extremely overprotective. Sometimes I see it as a good thing and other times I view it more negatively.

The reason for the topic is the fact that I have recently had my tendencies questioned because of the fact that when a friend of mine is talked to negatively, "I always come running."

That's what friends are for though, right? To stick up for you? To make sure you are safe? To be there to back you up when some IDIOT attacks you for no apparent  logical reason whatsoever in public where all can see??? (sorry got a little carried away there).

But when does healthy care become an "over protective" care?

Maybe to answer that question we should first examine where the seed of care originates. The following (in my opinion) are the top reasons why one may develop an "overprotective" care:

• You were raised by overprotective parents, and because you are/were treated with such close boundaries and restrictions you pass those same restrictions to others. With a fear that if you don't they may end up "lying in a ditch somewhere" (as most parents put it)
• You have experienced the pain associated with losing someone close to you and you take extra measures hoping to never experience that pain again.
• The people you care about are clumsy or accident prone, and you begin to worry about their physical safety.
• You could have a co-dependent personality and feel the need to have the affirmation of another at all times and you fear that in losing the person you are attached to, you in turn lose a portion of yourself.

You can take all four reasons above and condense them into one word: "WORRY"
worry passed down from parent to child, worried of losing another, worried for another's safety, worried about losing our-self worth. worry. that's what it boils down too.

Worry in itself is wrong. The Bible says that God feeds the birds of the air and clothes the flowers. Of course He will take care of His children. Worry though, is one of those sins we try to justify. We say it's OK and it's just how we are. I can't tell you how many times I have caught myself saying, "Sorry, I'm just a worry wart and there is nothing I can do about it."
Yes there is though. I can take it to God just as I do any other sin, and He will forgive me and help me move on and conquer my worries.

Now don't take what I'm trying to say the wrong way. I'm not saying that it's wrong to care about our friends/family. I'm not saying that their problems are theirs and theirs alone. I'm not saying to not be helpful, and I am definitely not saying that by not caring everything will be perfect. What i am saying is not to take it to the extreme.

People can handle somethings by themselves, and they don't need you jumping to the rescue every time some looks at them in a way you don't like.
I've heard it been said that people are like bars of soap. if you hold them to loosely they will slip on through, and if you hold them too tightly you will crush them. 

If you truly love someone, lighten your grip on them and put them in God's hands...That's the safest place anyone can be :)

I am an over protective, jealous, and selfish human being all because I love you.

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere. 

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3