Chapter 9 · 1 min read · 2 min listen
The Boat Full of Barrels
“Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.” — from 1 Peter 5
One day the leaders of the monastery gave Brother Lawrence a job he really didn’t want. They sent him on a long trip to a place called Burgundy, to buy the wine the Brothers would need.
Brother Lawrence did not think he was any good at buying and selling. And there was another problem. His leg was lame, so it was hard for him to walk. On the boat he could hardly walk at all. The only way he could get about was to roll himself over the top of the wine barrels!
Can you picture it? A big man with a bad leg, tumbling over barrel after barrel, bump, bump, bump.
But Brother Lawrence didn’t worry. He told God that this was God’s business he was doing. He trusted God to look after it. And afterwards he found that the whole job had gone very well.
The year before, he had been sent on the same kind of trip to another place, called Auvergne. He couldn’t even explain how it worked out, but it turned out well then too.
Sometimes we have to do things that feel too hard, like a test, a new school or something scary. You can do what Brother Lawrence did: tell God about it, and trust him to help.
Dear God, when I have to do something hard, help me to give my worries to you and trust you to take care of me. Amen.
Talk about it together
Ask the questions first — then tap one for a note for grown-ups.
Why was the trip to Burgundy hard for Brother Lawrence?
He wasn’t good at business, and he was lame, so on the boat he could only get around by rolling himself over the wine barrels.
What did he do instead of worrying?
He told God it was God’s business he was doing and trusted him with it, and the job went very well.
What is something hard you have to do soon? How could you give it to God?
The chapter’s point: when a job feels too hard for us, we can hand our worries to God and trust him to help.
Chapter 9 complete
The Boat Full of Barrels