As my younger son was growing up, I had to find creative ways to deal with his, well, let’s just say, “antics.” Social media was my outlet and I would “vent” by posting daily updates on what my kid was up to. Most of the posts were about his behavior at school, for example:
Such was the theme throughout his entire elementary school years. <SIGH>
Other times, the posts were about my child’s unique perspective on the world around him:
I learned to truly enjoy how his little brain thought!
This kid always kept me on my toes. He challenged me to see the silver lining in every situation, to turn what could be worrisome mom moments into opportunities to enjoy my child’s rough edges and pointy corners and to laugh when everything was telling me to give up.
And many times, his crazy antics ended up teaching me much, much more:
Alex’ Summertime Antics:
Tonight at church, we learned that if Jesus can calm a terrible storm by saying three simple words, “Peace! Be still!”, He can surely calm the storms of our lives (help us through tough times). So, I asked the kids to tell me some tough things that they go through that God can help them with. The kids gave great answers – school, losing a friend, the death of loved ones, breaking an arm or leg, parents getting divorced.
Then, Alex raised his hand…
“When you drop your iPod on your bed and it bounces up and hits you in the eye!”
One of the other teachers looked at me and said, “That’s YOUR kid!”
Yes, he is my kid! And he had a very good point – whether he realized it or not.
There is absolutely nothing too small to take to God in prayer. If it matters to you, it matters to Him. He cares about everything that is going on in your life.
We tend to believe we don’t need to waste God’s time on the small stuff, like our child’s behavior at school or loosing our car keys or getting hit in the eye with a bouncing iPod. But it’s often the little things like these that weigh us down the most. We throw these small troubles over our shoulders and say, “I got this.” Then, when the next little thing comes along, we throw it over our shoulders, too. And we keep adding and adding and adding until all those little problems that we thought for sure we could handle become a huge burden that we can no longer bear.
We could save ourselves a whole lot of heart (and back) ache by just taking each little trouble to the Lord. You’re not going to offend God by bringing what you think is a tiny matter to Him in prayer. No, God will say “Peace! Be Still!” to any size storm – even a little rain shower. That’s how amazing our God is!
So, what are you waiting for? Take Alex’ advice about the small stuff and start unloading those shoulders of yours. Then, get ready to enjoy God’s peace!
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
1 Peter 5:7
A Couple of Stars and a Happy Face 