Ax Heads and Armies

I thought I was going to pick up a sad little boy from school today. Have you ever been there, mamas? It's the absolute worst--thinking that the happy face he had in the morning would be exchanged for disappointment at pickup.

You see, he was scheduled to have a play date with one of his buddies after school. The boys had been arranging it for a while now, and it was pretty cute. They had each of us moms meet the other in the school parking lot several days prior to exchange numbers. Plans were discussed at recess by the boys. Arrangements were made by the moms last night. So this morning he skipped sweetly away, thinking his buddy was going to be riding home with us after the bell rang to play.

Not five minutes after drop off, though, my phone lit up with a message:
I'm so sorry. My son said he wasn't feeling up for the play date today.

My heart sank.
I told her it was okay, because of course it was!--after all, I've said yes to things that I've had to reluctantly back out of after realizing it was just going to be too much for me to handle that day. But respecting the mental and physical needs of another little boy didn't take away the fact that mine was going to be so let down if his buddy couldn't come over, and knowing that made me ache inside.

I spent a good portion of the next parts of my morning worrying about this hiccup in my boy's "best laid plans." There was nothing I could do, I decided. I would just have to cross that teary bridge with him when we got there this afternoon.

I started my morning Bible study, but couldn't focus. I just kept thinking about what his poor little face would look like when I saw him next.
Oh Lord. I'm so sad for him. Help me focus on Your Word today.

I reread the verses that seemed blurred by my busy brain with no better luck.

I'm sorry. I'm still distracted.

Reread. No dice.

(In defeat.) Help me focus... and then in a flash of clarity... Help me remember to pray for my son after this reading.

BOOM. It was like a magic bullet. Reading completed. Prayer said. Onslaught of peace and gratitude--not because everything was immediately fixed or even remotely changed, but simply because of the realization that I have the freedom to talk to an all-powerful God about something as trivial as my son's botched play date plans, and He loves us enough to listen.

It reminded me of an account I read in 2 Kings only a few days before. The kingdom of Israel is in conflict with Aram, and tensions are heating and raids are taking place throughout the land. And yet, in the middle of this war story, we see a scene squeezed right dab in the middle about a prophet named Elisha and his students building themselves a newer, bigger house:

So he [Elisha] went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began to cut down trees.

As one of them was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh no, master! It was borrowed!”

The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed Elisha the place, Elisha cut off a piece of wood. He threw it into the water at that place and made the ax head float. Elisha said, “Pick it up.” The disciple reached for it and picked it up.
(2 Kings 6:4-7)

That's it. End of the whole house scene.

I'll be honest. I kind of glossed over this story when I originally read it, because immediately following this 'random' ax story, the rest of the chapter covers the miraculous "big time" account of the prophet and his men escaping certain doom at the hand of the warriors of Aram.
Like so many little things, the ax head story kind of faded into the background of the big story for me. But if I've learned anything at all in my years, it's this:
God faithfully shows big love in the little things, too.
And so the "little ax head story" came back into big-time view for me today.


I wondered, how many times have I not brought some of my issues to God in prayer because they didn't seem worthy of His attention? Because they weren't "big time" issues? Because I didn't think it would matter to Him?--the very same God who found it worthwhile to concern Himself with knowing the number of hairs on my head.

1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
Y'all. All of it!
It doesn't say cast your big ticket items on Him for that's all He cares about. He wants us to bring Him all of it.
The things that seem big and scary and impossible, yes, but also the things that we excuse as small or unworthy. He wants to be the Lord of those things in our lives just as much.
All your heart. All your mind. All your soul. All your strength.
All your anxieties.
He cares about all of you.
Because He loves us.

Isn't that crazy?
He's in control of ax heads and armies.
New houses and old wars.
Number of hairs and number of days.

And you guys. Our big God will even help us out with our little boy's play dates ❤️
He's Lord over all of it!