How an old shoe box helped me worry less and trust God more

Last year, I saved up most of my 2 weeks of vacation time to use during the Christmas holiday season. My husband and I visited family out-of-state, spent time with friends and family locally, and even had a chance to unwind by doing nothing at all. (Clearly, we don’t have kids yet. lol)

Spending time with family is always a blessing, but it was the time I spent relaxing that showed me how an old shoe box has the power to reduce the amount of time I spend worrying and increase my capacity for trusting God.

I was sitting on the couch reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers when the idea presented itself. The plot in Redeeming Love is based on the love story in the book of Hosea. Near the end of the book, the lead female character (Angel) meets a teen girl. The teen tells Angel about her prayer box.

Whenever the girl is worried about something or has an issue with which she is struggling, she writes it on a piece of paper along with the date, says a prayer, and places it in the box. Once it is in the box, she doesn’t worry about it because it is in God’s hands. Every so often, she will open the box and review the prayers. The ones that have been answered or resolved are taken out of the box.

Right after I read this, I immediately went upstairs to my closet to find an empty shoe box. I cut a hole in the top with a box cutter and covered it in wrapping paper. I cut up tiny pieces of paper and put them, along with a pen, next to the box on the magazine basket in my living room. My husband and I frequently add prayers to the box and pray for all of the intentions inside at every meal and at bed time.

Chances are, if you have posted a prayer request on the Catholic Chicks blog or asked me to pray for you, it has made it into our prayer box. 🙂 We also invite guests to add their own prayers to the box. About once a month, we go through it to see how many of the prayers have been answered and WOW are we blessed!!!

The birthday wrapping paper on the box (all I had in the house when I made it) has coincidentally served as a reminder for us to celebrate and be thankful that God hears and answers all of our prayers in His time.

The prayer box has been a huge blessing to me and my husband, both worriers to varying degrees. It has been a big relief to let things go physically as I put them in the box, knowing that I have brought them before God in prayer and will continue to do so each day. What practices/techniques have you found that help you place your trust in God more?

Do you have any prayers you want us to add to our prayer box?