Cast your cares

A few weeks ago, my 2 year old got a stomach bug for the first time. It was obvious he didn't feel well and so when he motioned to crawl up into my lap, I welcomed him and wrapped my arms around his achy body. Then, out of no where, he started to cough, and before I could even think, he puked all over to the both of us. I looked at my husband, who had horror wash over his face, and sighed while I comforted my little one. I mean, what can you really do in that moment?

 After handing him over to be showered, while cleaning myself up, I heard the Father say, "Cast your cares on Me... That's what I mean."
"Throw up on you?" I asked, in almost disbelief of what I was hearing.
"Go look up the word 'cast."
"To throw or hurl; Fling." It made me think about a fisherman, casting his line into the water, first rearing his pole back, and then flinging with all of his might in the direction he intended it to go.

This picture gave me a new understanding of the verses I've heard so many times, even though it seems to many, they've become a pat answer in the face of worrisome circumstances. Peter tells us to "cast our anxieties on the LORD because He cares for us." He's echoing David, who said "Cast your cares on the LORD, and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken." (1 Peter 5:7/Psalm 55:22) Throw, hurl, fling my cares on the Lord. It's not a picture of passively placing my worries at Jesus' feet. It's a forceful, intentional, power-filled action.

But since the Father made a note to mention this in the middle of my son's vomiting, I got to thinking about what anxiety and worry does to the body as well as the soul. Worry often makes us nauseous, but we tend to stuff it down, as if talking or praying about it will make our concerns real instead of just in our minds. Ironically enough, stuffing it down keeps us in this state of being worried sick. Once we get it up and out, we end up feeling so much better, even if the process is messy, because our soul wasn't meant to hold onto it.  Like a body needs to get rid of a germ it can't process, the soul needs to get rid of anxiety.

He cares for you. He's not disappointed that you couldn't handle what keeps you up at night yourself, and He's not grossed out that you finally decided to cough up what's making your stomach churn. All He wants is for you to throw, hurl, fling these anxieties far enough away from you, with confidence and boldness, that you can't just reach down and pick them back up. Like the fisherman who only drops his line next to his boat, it's too easy to pick our anxieties back up and claim "it didn't work." If the temptation to take our anxieties back on ourselves is great, it means we didn't throw them far enough.

I pray you're given grace for the task. I'm not saying that it's easy. I'm saying that no matter how imperfect your aim, no matter how messy your progression, or how many times it takes for you to throw it a good distance away, it's worth it. He sustains those who cast their cares on Him. He stabilizes them with His peace.

"May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love .

It is there for each and every one of us." St. Therese of Liseux prayer from "Story of a Soul"