February 2003
"Hey, Jen, how’s it going?"
"Oh, my gosh, I had this huge test in Science and I just know I did AWFUL, and my mom’s all mad at me for being out so late on Saturday, and Kate says she’s not mad but I know she, like, totally hates me ‘cause Brad said "hi" to me in the hall right in front of her, and I don’t want to miss the dance on Thursday but I have this basketball game and I just can’t go all sweaty and stuff.."
Do you ever feel just like Jen? Sometimes we have so much going on that we "rehearse" the bad things, either out loud to our friends or over and over in our heads. While it can be a real drag for our friends to always hear about how terrible our lives are, it can be even more damaging to us, leaving us worn out, stressed, or even depressed. When we have stressful things in our lives, it is important to address it and get a plan rather than just let them pile up and drag us down.
Make a list of things that are stressing you out (a journal works great for this!) Look over your list. Make a plan for the things that you can control. If you have a test coming up…schedule time to study well in advance so you can get more help if you need it. If you have a conflict with a friend or mom, make a plan to address it with her, maybe sending an email, making her a card, or finding some time when just the two of you can talk. Pray that God will help you find the right words and that your friend’s heart will be softened so she can let go of her anger.
Now, if there are still things on your list over which you have absolutely no control….it is time to "cast" your cares upon God.
1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you".
I love the use of the word "cast." It’s not just humbly laying them at His feet, hoping He’ll take time from His busy schedule of Ruling the World, or sending them in the mail hoping they don’t come back "returned to sender". My thesaurus includes, "discard, reject, throw away, throw out, chuck, get rid of, dispose of, dump, ditch, heave or toss overboard, throw out the window, give away, abandon, remove, and eliminate".
Wow! If we chuck our anxiety at God, it isn’t coming back to us unless we run after it to get it back. And why? BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT US!! What a wonderful thing to know, that the same God who created the universe, who set the stars in the sky and created a whole world of microorganisms too small for me to even see, cares that I am stressed and wants to take it away for me.