The worry stone

Poor little Zoë faced her first major rejection today at school. This evening she struggled to fall asleep because she was worried the same thing would happen tomorrow.

We talked about it.

We prayed about it.

But she still felt sad, and my mummy heart was hurting for her.

Then came the idea. I grabbed a random pebble and a kinder egg capsule.

‘Zoë, this is a worry stone.’

Her eyes lit up with curiosity and her lips curved into the hint of a smile.

‘A worry stone?’

‘Yes. It’s a very special stone. You need to give it a name. Its name is what you’re worried about. Then you put it into this wee capsule. Close it up. Then I’ll take it into my room for the night so you don’t need to think about it and if you want to we can open it again in the morning.’

We named the worry stone and she solemnly and ceremoniously snapped the little yellow capsule shut.

‘Maybe I’ll just keep it under my pillow in case I need to open it during the night?’

‘Are you sure you want to do that? I can look after it for you and we can think about it together again tomorrow.’

She reluctantly handed it over. Then I saw the relief wash over her, the weight lifting and the eyes closing.

Sleep came quickly after that.

Have you experienced rejection recently? Or is there something you are anxious about? It’s healthy to talk about it. It’s wise to pray about it. But unless we choose to hand that concern over to the only One who can look after it for us, we may well find ourselves holding on to that little capsule, keeping it ‘under our pillow’ during the night, just in case we want to wake up and keep worrying about it.

It’s hard to release those things into God’s capable hands, but it’s also a major relief.

What would you name that little stone today?

Snap that capsule shut and hand it on over 🙏

You might just find you are given the relief, rest, and peace you need. ❤️

H.