seek: on running into parked cars

(So there is a passage that has grabbed me by the neck and, in the most polite of ways, given me a good shake. It is found in Matthew 6.25-34 and -- to borrow a popular phrase -- its doppelganger, in Luke 6.22-34. In attempt to release its grip, I share my thoughts here.)

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6.25

We went to the library last week. My book was due. And I was returning it on time, so this was somewhat of an unusual circumstance.

Usually the fact that our library is adjoined to a tavern and has a parking lot that can fit about 10 cars -- toy ones -- doesn't phase me. But I did notice this particular day, since the parking lot was full and I had to go park at the far end of the tavern's gravel parking lot. It was nice that it wasn't raining.

When we got inside, I figured out why all the car were there. It was storytime. Which, now you know, I have not yet gotten into the habit of taking my children to. I'm still trying to convince myself that there is a good reason for that besides my laziness and forgetfulness.

Since the girls were with me, we played and did a craft before we got our books and left. We were walking back to the car when another couple walked out behind us. For some reason this disturbed Kar. So instead of walking in a more or less straight line to the car, she turned around to watch this couple behind her as she walked. She was also trying to keep an eye on me while telling me that these people were scary. (Glad not all people speak Three Year Old.) I was getting dizzy just watching her. I kept telling her just to walk to the car, that she was fine, I was with her, she didn't need to worry,...

Sure enough, as she was turning from the "scary people", she walked right into a parked car and hit her head. And now that she was crying, the "scary people" finally noticed her and I'm sure had no idea the role they played in the injury.

Turns out, walking into parked cars is exactly what this verse in Matthew is talking about.

Most translations of the verse use the term "don't be anxious" or "don't worry". And there are lots of people who do lots more worrying than me, so except on the rare day, this passage doesn't apply to my life, right?

That was until I read another version: "take no thought for your life" (KJV). Turns out I DO think about my life a lot. Not just about what I'm doing and what I might do in the future, but I get really caught up in my own life and obsess about landscape plants and personality types and what color to paint the bathroom and how much I have to offer the world -- that is, if I could only pry myself off Facebook.

The Geek (oops, is there supposed to be an 'r' in there?) word that is translated as "anxious" and "worry" and "care" is derived from the word for distraction or something that divides. So these are dividing cares we're talking about, things that distract our heart from the true object of life. This concept certainly includes worry, but encompasses all that competes for our hearts' attention.

This is not to say I should only read my Bible and pray. (I wish!) These dividing cares refer as much to our minds as our actions. For example, once upon a time I read a book about eating local. And suddenly found myself burdened with growing a very productive garden and trying to figure out how to eat primarily from local sources.

Now, I believe that these things can be pursued with God as our focus, with a goal of glorifying Him, but that was not the case with me. I was doing it out of a sense of obligation and guilt and "I should" and there was unrest. When I figured it out, what was wrong wasn't what I was doing, it was how much I cared about it...to the point that it crowded out what really is important, because, believe it or not, there are things in life that are more important than home-grown tomatoes and grass fed cows.

That's not what I want. As fun as it is to let myself be consumed by pure food sources and which brand of shower cleaner to use, that's not what I really care about, that's not what I'm really after. I want to eliminate distractions, let worries fade into the distance and get your eyes and heart on what you really want. And do it before I run into a parked car.