“Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?”
I was mediating on this passage from Matthew’s Gospel this morning when I overheard a little scene outside the bedroom between my husband and daughter.
My daughter was very excited to build boats with her blocks this morning.
She ran back and forth between her room and the living room bringing handfuls of blocks. She wanted all of them, so she tried to bring out the whole box.
She went to get it, but it was too heavy. She became increasingly distressed as she tried to lift it. Finally, she came in upset and told him she couldn’t pick it up.
Without a second thought, he told her that was fine, he could get it. And in he went, easily picking up the box of blocks for her.
Hearing this interaction while meditating on the passage dubbed, “Dependence on God” was touching.
My daughter was needlessly struggling and becoming distressed because she was trying to do something by herself that her father would have been happy to do for her, if only she asked him.
The task, though impossible for her by her own strength, was easy for her father to do. And he did it for her happily, once she came to him.
Luke’s version of this passage includes these lines:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”
He is pleased to give us the world, to help us when we are weak, to provide for our needs, to carry our burdens, to care for us. He is our strong and loving Father.
And like the old “footprints in the sand” story, He does not abandon us in the difficult times. Instead, His strong arms are there to hold us and carry us through them.
We only have to reach up and ask Him, with the faith and love of a child.
“If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? […] As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore.”
May we all lean upon His strength today.
Blessed be our Good and Strong Father.❤️
If the image of God as Father is difficult or painful for you because of your own negative experiences with father figures in your life, I invite you to meditate with these passages (Matthew 7:25-34 and Luke 12:22-34). Jesus points these comforting verses back to His Father to show us how much He loves us. I saved a few stories to my Instagram highlights talking about this as well. St. Joseph, pray for us!
A Catholic's Perspective 