A Little Red Car

     Bang! Bang! Bang! It seemed to just get louder and louder. It was late at night and I was trying to do some work in the quiet of the night as everyone else was sleeping. I had a cup of coffee and it was just me and the Lord. Well, it was me, the Lord, and this incessant banging. With the rhythm of the dryer turning a load of jeans over and over, the banging danced on my very last nerve. I just knew that my oldest son had left something in his pocket that he shouldn't. How many times did this noise reveal something that destroyed the load of clothes in the dryer? Walking like a madman to the laundry room of the house, I opened the dryer door as if I were wringing a chicken's neck. I go through every pair of jeans simply to find the evidence of what I already know has happened. Nothing in these or those. As I invert each pocket to find nothing, I get a little more irritated. Then there is nothing left in the dryer except a pair of jean shorts that belong to my four year old. He is almost five. He has been telling us for several days that he is going to be five in 30 years because we had told him last month it was about 30 days until his birthday. The sweet confusion warms my heart every time he says it. I immediately feel something in his pocket. I turn the pocket inside out to find...a little red car. He was carrying a little red car. Thoughts of his pure innocence rushed through my mind. The concerns of his life came down to which toy car would he put into his pocket so that he might play wherever he might be. Holding the little red car, now very shiny because it has just been through the washer, I realized that he did not worry about meetings, money, not even sickness though he had a runny nose. He just played. Laughter, funny sounds, running circles around the furniture and jumping off the stairs like Superman are the major components of his life. Oh, and of course, racing his little cars around the kitchen counters, living room table, and often his Mom's face. He just played.
     I suddenly longed for such a care free life. I wanted to put a little red car in my pocket and lay all of the weight of this life down. I wanted my mind to be emptied of stress, issues, and worries. Then it hit me:

     We do all have responsibilities and issues and people to deal with. But the Lord reminded me that He has everything in His hands. Every inkling of worry and irritation is a testimony of distrust or impatience on our part with Him. We can just relax. Things will go wrong, but even the wrong things are in the hands of God. What are you carrying around in your pocket? When you turn the pockets of your life inside out, what do you find? Is it stress, worry, irritation, or anger? Remember, you can cast your cares on Him. He has all of that in His hands and He will take care of it. Pray and ask the Lord to take care of the issues of life and then make a decision to trust Him no matter what your emotions might say. Cast your cares on Him. It's kind of like carrying around a little red car in your pocket...only better!