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"Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
I saw the most beautiful thing today: a flailing child. I was sitting in Divine Service (which we are blessed to have every Wednesday at Concordia Seminary), and we were preparing for Communion. A few rows in front of me was a mother who was desperately wrangling her little boy.
He was all over the place — right side up, upside down, and sideways — while Mom used every muscle in her body to hold him tight. I remember those days. My little boys, who are big enough to hold me now, used to be expert flailers, and church was one of their favorite places to use their skill. When they were toddlers, I didn’t see anything beautiful about it. But today, God used that flailing boy to remind me of His faithfulness.
You see, I was struck while watching that little guy that he was certainly having all kinds of feelings — frustration, confusion, and stubbornness, to name a few — but that, in the midst of those feelings, he also had complete trust. He knew that no matter how hard he squirmed and kicked, he was safe in his mother’s arms. She was not going to drop him, and he was not going to be hurt. This trust simply came from the fact that she is his mom, and he has experienced her love and faithfulness.
Do you ever feel like you are flailing? Life is hard. We deal with rocky situations at work. Family members struggle with terrible health conditions. Transitions disrupt our lives. Money gets tight, and we aren’t sure how our debts will be paid. We are left with big feelings that turn us upside down and sideways.
I don’t like the feeling of flailing. It makes me weak and confused, like I’m not in control ... and I really like to be in control. But God reminded me of something beautiful today through that little child. Even when we are flailing, we are safe in His arms. That loving mom did not drop her little boy. Quite the opposite happened. She held onto him, kept him safe, and then took him with her up to the Lord’s altar as she received His true body and blood. And if an earthly parent can be that good, loving, and faithful, how much more can we trust our Heavenly Father!
I’m not a huge fan of poetry, but I love the book of Psalms because you can just hear the flailing. David and the other authors had hard things in their lives, which resulted in big feelings. Sometimes it can sound like they are totally upside down and sideways, but they also express tremendous trust. It is possible to be a complete, flailing mess while at the same time full of trust in God. This trust — the peace that passes all understanding — is only possible because God is our Father and we have experienced His love and faithfulness.
He sent His Son to die for us. He claimed us as His children in the waters of Baptism. He comes to us over and over in His Supper. He regularly speaks through the words of our pastors to bring us absolution from all our sins. He’s got us. He will never drop us, and He will certainly bring us to His feast in the new, restored creation that will have no end.
So, it’s okay to flail … God’s got you. You can find rest for your soul in Him.
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