By Steph Fink
I woke that particular morning with a Pokemon stuffed animal wedged under my left shoulder and my cute seven year old, Cal, glued to my left hip. We slept in a “T” formation.
A few hours prior, Cal had slid into my bed with his Pokemon companion, freaked out by his scary dream. I pulled Cal in close and whispered a prayer. I sensed his body tension release and he quickly drifted off back to sleep.
A few days later, my adopted-by- heart 25 year old, Jayson, called with some very heavy “stuff”. Yes, you guessed right. There was no way were we getting off the phone without a prayer lifted to the One that’s able to carry those cares. I heard peace in Jayson’s voice before we hung up.
That same week my ten year old, Jake, felt anxious about the upcoming school music program. I asked if we could pray together, he nodded. After we prayed, I noticed that Jake stood a tad taller as if some bricks were removed from his back
All three had valid scares, cares and concerns and needed to be encouraged to do as 1 Peter 5:7 says to, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
I explained to Jake that telling God our concerns is like fishing. I picked up my imaginary fishing pole and casted. His freckled nose scrunched in disapproval. He didn’t like idea because we “don’t catch anything”. (Thank you very much my results-oriented mini-me.)
Since the Fink family is not particularly gifted fishermen, more like professional bait drowners, we’re accustomed to reeling back an empty line. When we hook our cares and cast them far out to God, reel back peace. Often times we don’t “see” something but we do catch, or experience, and unexplainable peace.
While I do think that self confidence is important, I believe that true self confidence comes from an unwavering confidence in the Lord, which leads to “…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” which “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
Teaching my boys how to cast a fishing line took some time and a lot of practice. With repetition and a lot of attention to detail, they’ve gotten the hang of it. Learning how to cast their worries has also taken some time and attention to detail, but they are getting the hang of it.
Developing the discipline of casting cares has become a priority that I want to teach my kids. Their Momma’s wasted far too much time weighed down my carrying heavy cares that God wanted me to cast far away.
I recognize the world that my kids live in today is not the same world I grew up in. They’re facing more vigorous academics and different stressors earlier than I faced them. I pray that when the stressors arrive, they don’t just depend on themselves but rather that they go fishing to cast their cares and catch some peace!
