Bring those Burdens

I'm reading through a few booklets on Orthodoxy (cute, I know). And today I tackled Practical Prayer, an interview with Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Besides being a really wise man, he mentioned something that I thought was really cool.

The interviewer asked about the hectic lifestyle of many Westerners and how it interferes with a prayerful life. I thought he'd respond with a challenge to get rid of all distractions and make our lives more simple! But he took a different approach.

"Very often people say, 'I would like to pray undistractedly, and yet concerns press upon me.' Why push the concerns out? Very often they are God's concerns, more than ours.

"Before we try to be with God in serenity and peace and stillness, we should turn to Him and say, 'Lord here are a few things that worry and torment me.' Someone's illness, someone's enmity of mind, even small things like the worry of a child preparing for an exam - there is nothing too small for God. Present the whole thing to God in detail, saying everything that you've got to say. And then make an act of faith, and say to God, 'I have put it in Your hands, I will now leave it in Your hands for a short while.'

"You can add, if you are honest, 'I don't think that I'll be able to leave it for long, because I don't trust You enough. I will take it back because I feel in my worry this problem is more central, perhaps, than You do.' (You will discover later that this is not true, but still we must often start that way.) And then once you have given it to God, say, 'Now Lord, let us be together for a short while.'

"You would do precisely the same thing, would you not, with a wife or a friend. You would come loaded with worry, and you couldn't simply enjoy the company, the happiness of being together. You would first say, 'Oh, I've had such a heavy day,' and tell your wife or your mother or your friend of the worry of the day. Having unburdened yourself you could then sit back and say, 'Ah, how lovely it is to be together.'"

I sometimes fall into a rut of saying what I think should be said to God instead of my reality. My concerns stay concerns because I think they're too small. Goodness, why would I bother the God of the universe with the subtleties of life? I remember His massiveness, but neglect His desire to sweat the details. I don't think this allows us to dwell on the things that don't matter, but to give the small things to God, take care of them in any way we can, and get over them.

So unburden yourself. And do it to God. Then you can enjoy Him.