Casting Your Cares On Him

A couple days ago my son brought home from school that ominous paper that comes home each spring. It says, and I am paraphrasing, “If you put teacher requests for next year in writing we might consider them but don’t count on it. We get to stick your child in whatever classroom we want.” Now begins a scramble across town as all the moms compare notes and begin to jockey for “the best” teacher. There is always one teacher everyone wants and at least one about whom you hear horrifying stories and think you may just die (or have to move out of town) if your child is assigned to that classroom.

Why am I telling you this? Am I trying to write one of those mommy blogs that are so incredibly popular right now? No. I’m telling you because this anxiety about next year’s classroom placement is, for me, a perfect example of a recurring worry I can turn over to God. Think about it. I actually have no idea which teacher is best for my kid. I have no idea what life circumstances Connor will face next year. I also have to admit that I know surprisingly little about how his mind works and how it will develop over the next 6 months. I don’t really know the teachers either—I only know what other mothers think they might know or heard from their neighbor’s neighbor awhile back. On top of that, I have very little power to affect the school’s placement decision anyway. On the other hand, God knows exactly who the right teacher is. He knows what Connor will need next year. He even knows what college he will eventually attend and what kind of career he will need to be prepared for. He knows how Connor’s mind works inside and out. And, best of all, He has power over the school administration. He can put Connor with the perfect teacher and the school administrators will think it was their own idea!

So, between now and August, I will pray many times about this issue. Sometimes it will be with confidence and peace of mind, thanking God that He is in control. Sometimes, after I have heard a particularly scary tidbit about a teacher, I will pray nervously, “God, what about Mr. So-and-so? What if Connor is in his class?” But the point is, I will repeatedly put the issue in the lap of the qualified decision maker and try to leave it there.

So what is the equivalent of teacher placement in your life? What are the things that make you anxious--but over which you have little control? Do you feel that way when you check stock prices or look at your 401(k) statement? How about each time you schedule a medical appointment? Think about next year's tuition? Drop someone you love at the airport? Or when the rumors of lay offs sweep through your workplace once again? Try practicing turning these issues over to God each time that little anxious or unsettled feeling begins to form in the pit of your stomach. It can be just a quick general prayer: God I know you know the future. Do what is best. Prepare me for whatever it is. Help me to relax knowing that You are in control. Or it can be more specific, laying out in detail what you are worried about and what you think would be the best result, while asking Him to guide the situation according to what He knows will be best for your future.