Katrick: 'I've got this.'

One of my many favorite black and white photos that seems to have gone missing is a picture of my father, carrying me and my stuffed toy dog, Elizabeth, to bed. I vaguely recall him saying something like, “It’s okay, I’ve got this!” and holding me close.

I’d hear him express these same sentiments on any number of occasions, like when mom was preparing the steaks and he was firing up the grill, or when fresh leaf lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes needed to be harvested from the garden for salads. Also, when Grandpa’s washer needed fixing, even though it was dad’s day off, or when dad slept on the little couch next to the phone, when he was on call at the Rolling Mill of the United States Steel plant.

If we’re playing close enough attention, “I’ve got this,” are words we often hear while looking up to the heavens and saying, “Lord hear our prayers.”

Through all my years as a pastor, and now a spiritual director, I’ve gained a growing awareness that it is my Heavenly Father who now carries me to bed, especially when my spirits have grown tired and weary.

As I drift to sleep and give all my prayer concerns to God’s one and only begotten Son, Jesus, I can feel the weight of them being lifted from my shoulders, one by one. As I lie down, my brain waves begin to slow down, and I experience stage-three deep, non-REM (restorative) sleep.

In REM sleep, my brain activity increases and I begin to dream. I have dreams most every night and keep a journal of them. It is here that the “God who never slumbers or sleeps” (Psalm 121:4), helps me to work something or the other out.

Then, as a reminder of what Jesus said in the Gospel, “Do not worry about your life (Matthew 6:25),” God breaks in saying, “I’ve got this!” as an exclamation point. You can even hear God’s “still, small voice”, echoing through the noise and commotion of July 4, in public venues and backyards.

My father, of course, was in charge of cooking out and the entertainment. He insisted on taking care of things, on taking care of us. It’s like when the Psalmist says, “The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:5-8) In other words, “He’s got this!”

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ive got this