Stop those worries

Some kids worry all the time. They take tests and worry they wont get a good grade; they worry that other kids don’t like them or that bad things will happen to them.

Other kids don’t even think about stuff like that. What makes them different? How can worriers stop worrying?

In this weeks Gospel (John 17:1-11), Jesus gives us a clue.

Jesus prayed alone in a garden: Father, the hour has come. I did the work you gave me; I taught people about you. I pray for them, because they’re staying in the world while I’m coming back to heaven to be with you. Keep them in your name, so they’ll be as close to you as I am.

People worry when they don’t know how something will turn out. You can study for a test and still wonder if you’ll forget everything and fail it! You can try to be nice to other kids and still wonder if they’ll like you.

In the Gospel story, Jesus had a couple of ways to stop worrying. One way was to pray: He went off by Himself and told God the Father all His worries. Jesus worried that people would forget what He’d taught and wouldn’t be good after He went back to heaven, but He poured out his thoughts to God to help Himself feel better.

Jesus also said something important: that He’d done the work He was sent to do. Now, it was up to His followers to stay close to God after He was gone.

Like Jesus, all you can do is what you’re supposed to. If you have a test, you can study; that helps you worry less about what grade you’ll get. If you worry about whether people will like you, all you can do is be nice to them.

And if you’re still worried, you can do something else Jesus did: pray! God is always ready to listen to your worries.

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me do what I can do, so I can stop worrying! Amen.