By Deanna Bartalini

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” ~ Jeremiah 17:7

As I pondered the Mass readings today, these two words, blessed and trust, kept jumping out at me.  How do we trust in God in our daily life? That is the task or work of the Christian life: to turn over our cares and concerns to God, believing that he will take care of them in his time, according to his plan. We cannot say we trust and then take care of our concerns on our own.

A Prayer Box

Many years ago, my sister gave me a small, rectangular-shaped silver box with a cross on it and the words “prayer box.” Inside was a slip of paper explaining I was to put my prayers in the box and leave them there for God to take care of. I loved the idea of the box. I put it where I could see it, hoping I would be inspired to use it. I very much wanted to use this box. But I could not do it. It felt risky, lazy, a bit silly, and slightly presumptuous of me to expect God to pay that much attention to me and my box of prayers.

I know better now. It is said that with age comes wisdom. Maybe it is age, though I tend to believe it is more life experience that gives us wisdom. Life experience and the Holy Spirit, when we are open to receive wisdom, gives it to us.

God Pays Attention

The wisdom that I have now is that God is paying more attention to me and you than we realize. How presumptuous it was for me to think God is not paying attention. We do not take a breath without him. He is holding each of us that closely and carefully.

We need to do our part. As Jeremiah tells us, when we trust we will be able to withstand heat and drought because we are planted in God, not in the world. And we will be blessed by God for our trust in him.

Jesus tells us about the same thing in the Sermon on the Pain from Luke. When we do not have or rely on the things of the world, God provides for us. When life gives you more than you want to handle, turn to these verses from today’s Gospel. I say want to handle, not can handle, because I believe God gives us the grace we need to handle much more than we think is possible.

Pray for Grace

People endure much pain and suffering in this world. Sometimes, it is for a time due to illness or job loss. Or it can be something permanent that will only end on the other side of heaven. Maybe it is a combination of both. When we are in the midst of those times, pray for the grace to trust that God hears, sees, and knows what you need. Ask him to help you take care of whatever is happening. And then accept what he gives.

Prayer

Dear God, when life seems more burden than joy, confusion rather than calm, give me the grace to turn over my cares and concerns to you. Lead me to a greater trust in you no matter my life circumstances. 

Call to Action

Write down your prayer requests, giving them all to God. After a week, go back and see what has happened with those prayers.  

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