Memories from my kindergarten-teaching days will always be special to me. Crazy days. Fun filled days. Rainy days. Messy days. Tough days. Whatever the day’d been like, the dismissal bell was eagerly awaited by students and teachers alike!  

Every day as school ended, my 5 and 6 year old kiddos were met at our classroom door by their moms or dads. Each kindergartener’s unique personality was in play as they met their parent with shy smiles, toothless grins, and jubilant tackle-hugs. You might see a quiet little boy slipping his small hand into the protective one that reached for his. Occasionally an exuberant little girl unable to contain her excitement at the sight of a grandpa at the door would jump up and down with joyful abandon. No matter how the greeting went, it was typically followed by The Backpack Hand-off. (It seemed to be an unspoken assumption on the part of the small human that the big one was more capable, so why not let them!) And never once did I see a mommy or daddy seem upset with their “duty”. In fact, it appeared that they were just as pleased to receive the load as their child had been to hand it off. Then together, off they went to enjoy the rest of their day.

1Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

As I read that verse this morning the memory of those Backpack Handoffs surfaced. I pictured a little boy who looked like he’d had a rough day at school. Though the play yard tears that had streamed down his face at lunchtime had long since dried, the sight of his mommy now brought fresh  ones. His sad face said what he couldn’t yet talk about. Somehow though, you could see that just the handing off of his backpack and the reassuring hug from his mom had given the comfort he needed.  

I felt the Holy Spirit saying that so many of us have concerns that have made us anxious, troubling situations we have no true control over, and people we’re desperately worried about. We worry over them and then load those troubles into our backpacks and carry them around, keeping them always on hand so we can worry some more when we have spare moments. Silly as it sounds, we act as if worrying is actually productive behavior! The truth is, all that worries ever produce is ulcers! 

Yet that doesn’t mean we should cast the problems out of our mind and move on. No, we should do what this verse says—hand them over in prayer to the One who cares, our Heavenly Father, Abba.

Father God, Abba, help me to pay attention when you encourage me to hand over my backpack of worries and cares to You in prayer. After all, You are bigger, stronger, and actually able to work in all those situations. Right now it seems silly for me to think I’m more suited than You to carry that pack. Thank You for lovingly caring about me and all that concerns me. I’m so grateful for Your invitation to give all my cares and worries to You. So here’s my backpack, Abba! I’m handing it to You and placing my small hand into Your big, safe, capable one. And I realize that I never once saw a student take back their pack from mom or dad. Help me learn to be just as smart as they were so we can both enjoy the day!