Careless

Lately Norah has seemed kinda zoned out. Christy thinks she isn’t getting enough sleep which is probably true because she and Anna in the same bedroom equals one mol of laughing, singing, goofing off and oftentimes crying until the parental police squad descends upon the room with swift and terrible justice… as a result, Norah is weepy, fussy and out of it during the day. I’ve watched her walking around the house dreamy-eyed, quietly humming an unknown tune while pouring apple juice all over every inch of upholstery. When I flipped over the pouring of the juice, she just looked up as if snapped out of a trance. I’ve watched her poke family members with sharp objects without any apparent intent to harm… like she was innocent and being mind controlled by Lucius Malfoy or something. Getting her to clean up at the end of the day has been almost impossible because she just can’t focus… it’s like she hasn’t a care in the world.

You know, being careless gets a pretty bad rap. On the one hand, it seems really irresponsible and maybe even selfish, but lately I’ve been thinking that in the spiritual realm, it might not be such a bad quality to have after all. I read a familiar story this week about a man who went out and scattered seed on the ground… some of it grew and produced a great crop, but most of it didn’t. I’m sure you probably know this story inside and out, but in reading it again and just taking some time to think it through, I realized something kinda cool that I hadn’t really thought about before. I realized that growth is all about being careless.

In Jesus’ story, the seed falls on different types of soil, which represent different types of hearts… He said that some seed fell on the path and didn’t grow because birds ate it up… see, the soil on the path was too hard for seeds to grow in. It had been walked on too much. Some people have been walked on too. The things that have happened to them in the past have left them bitter and angry. Their hearts are hard like the dirt on the path and so the devil steals the word before it takes root. Jesus then said that some seed fell on rocky soil and that although it grew, there weren’t good, deep roots so it withered when the sun came up. He said that there are people who believe the word but then can’t handle ill treatment and the persecution that comes. They whither instead of grow. Then Jesus said that some seed fell on soil that was crowded with weeds that choked out the word… these folks want to believe, but they want other stuff more… like money and the things of this world.

It struck me that these unproductive soils represent the hearts of people who have too many cares. Some folks care too much about this world and its stuff. Other folks care too much about what people think of them and still others care too much about the things that have happened to them in the past. Overwhelming cares leave a heart hard, shallow and crowded, but Peter said to cast “all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.” It is not a bad thing to have a carefree heart… to let go of the past, to let go of trying to impress people and to let go of desires for things that are passing. That’s how you keep a soft, deep and un-crowded heart. That’s how you grow… letting go of cares you shouldn’t have and giving them all to Him. After all, He knows how to properly care for you. It’s not a bad thing to be careless.