“Tomato plant.”

These words are my newest stop sign for worrying.

It happened a few days ago. It was windy, but finally sunny. The kids in the neighborhood were riding their bikes and jumping on trampolines. The neighbors were mowing their soggy lawns. I had just finished planting over three boxes of onions and some pole beans. My lower back was sunburned in the narrow gap between my shirt and the top of my jeans.

Earlier in the day, I went to church, cleaned the kitchen, wrapped gifts for two upcoming birthday parties and helped with homework.

As I got the kids to bed that night, I thought about the coming week. I thought about the laundry. I thought about doing some work on my computer.

My youngest, age 7, was in her bed with a book. She tugged on my arm.

“Mommy, could you bring my tomato plant into the garage tonight so it doesn’t freeze?” She had heard the weather report about one more chance of frost that night, death to any sun-loving plant like the tomato.

Her tomato plant was still sitting on a small table outside our front door. I told her to place it there for some sun in the afternoon.

Under my daughter’s watchful care, this particular tomato plant sprouted and grew at school, destined to be a Mother’s Day gift along with an eggplant and zinnias. She carefully labeled the milk carton planters and proudly presented her plants to me one day after school. She told me that some of the kids didn’t have plants because theirs died.

She wanted to plant hers in our garden right away, but I told her that the weather was too cold for the plants to be outside yet. So she placed them on the workbench in our garage. Every other day she added water.

I nodded my head. “Okay. Yes. Thanks for reminding me.”

I hugged and kissed my girls, said goodnight to my husband and proceeded to sit at my desk for two or three hours, fretting over my to-do list for the week.

The next morning I quickly showered, got dressed and headed to school to supervise an hour of marching band practice. My daughter found me in the gym. She told me she loved me and blew me a kiss before heading to class.

I headed home to grab some coffee and my computer before driving to St. Paul for work. I came into my driveway and that’s when I saw them. Three little milk cartons covered in construction paper. Red pencils lined up in each carton as plant stakes. Wilted and wet brown leaves.

I forgot about her tomato plant.

Kids don’t usually ask for much: “Play with me.” “Tuck me in bed.” “Can you get me a glass of water?” “Read me a story.” So this latest question cuts to the core.

“Mommy, could you bring my tomato plant into the garage tonight so it doesn’t freeze?”

There is a big reason that God tells us not to worry. Worry distracts us from focusing on what’s important right now! Worrying about tomorrow or about the past won’t change it. But we can make a difference right now. We can do what we promise before it’s too late. Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

What’s your stop sign for worry? What have you failed at or forgotten to do in the distraction of your lists, selfish worries and troubles? A plant can be replaced, but a person’s trust and love is a far different matter and needs deep concentration every day for us to stay on the right path. Avoid distraction from your true purpose. Don’t leave your priorities in the cold.

Matthew 7:13-14

“God never gives us more than we can handle.”

This is a saying I’ve heard frequently. Now I realize that it doesn’t make any sense.

First of all, this saying is used to help people feel better about stress or hard times. So we must assume by this use that God is the one handing us trouble.

It also seems to say that God decides when we’ve reached our “full” point for stress or trouble. Then he stops piling on the trouble.

But really, terrible things DO happen to people. They have loved ones die suddenly. They are diagnosed with scary illnesses. They experience natural disasters and all kinds of injuries.

Those experiences aren’t exactly the kind we just “handle.”

In fact, this saying is the absolute opposite of what God is, does or expects of us. God is not responsible for giving us trouble. God also isn’t our personal light switch for turning off troubles. Sometimes our troubles continue even after we pray for them to stop. Loved ones don’t come back from the dead. Illnesses don’t go away. Natural disasters and injuries require a long time for healing.

God also never promised that our lives would be trouble free, even after we’ve consecrated our lives to His service.

So if God doesn’t give us trouble, and doesn’t necessarily stop trouble and doesn’t promise a trouble-free life, then…what exactly does He do? And why should we pray to Him or believe in Him?

A lot of people wonder about this — especially in tough times. They feel alone. They believe that handling things is completely up to them. And at some point they experience things that go well beyond what they can handle. Nonbelievers watch people who believe in God experience just as many tragedies...sometimes more and many worse things.

So where is God in that?

Actually, He is everywhere.

If we look closely, God is the kind words of a friend...or a stranger. He is the green light. He is the perfect song on the radio. He is the blooming tulips and warm breeze. He is a child’s hug and a good night's sleep. He is all the things that are going right and all the people who treat us like beautiful human beings…who lighten the load and lift us up.

God is also the trial that builds our integrity and character. He is the critic who calls us to account for our mistakes. He is the warning bell to change direction. He is the close call. He is the mirror. He is the walk in the desert.

God can take our troubles and create good from them: Romans 8:28

He picks us up, walks with us through the storm and calms our fears: Psalm 23

One of the most frequent commands in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” This is because we are never alone in our tragedies and sorrows. Instead of relying on our own strength to navigate life, figure things out and endure every small and large catastrophe, we should surrender and rely on God.

He is there. He is just waiting for us to say, “I need you. I can’t do this by myself. In fact, I can’t handle anything. Please, take over. Show me what you can do.”

Then He’ll show you.

God doesn’t give us trouble. He gives us Himself. He never asked us to "handle" our life. He wants us to "hand" it over.

That's why He's called the Savior.