Yikes. Nice title, right? You know me well enough by now to know this will all make sense. Promise.
When anxiety strikes, what part of your body does it hit? We all experience anxiety differently – maybe it’s migraines, an upset stomach – for me, anxiety gives me what I call Ground Beef Heart. Yes, it feels as yucky as it sounds.
Worry and doubt can grind up my peaceful heart until it feels raw. Those vivid “worst case scenarios” our brains are so good at launch themselves on my heart and stick. When my heart is not strong, the “what if’s” settle into the mush.
You get the picture. Now, here’s where TACOS come in. TACOS, while a great food, is an even better acronym for how to pray. Here it is:
T A C O S
T-Thanks. Start by giving thanks for the people around you, the food you’re about to eat, the day you had. Step one is saying thank you.
A-Adoration. Think of words you would use to describe God and tell Him. Here are some ideas; awesome, good, sweet, faithful, loyal, steady.
C-Confession. This is where you check your heart and share with God where you may have messed up or gone wrong.
O-Oration. Pray for someone who needs it. Pray for a situation that you can’t heal or help.
S-Silence. Shhhhhh… time to be quiet now. Take a deep breath in and listen. Give it a minute. Just shhhhhh.
To review: Ground Beef Heart can be remedied through TACOS. Haha, imagine if we just left it there.
Pretty much all of life’s big and small moments are made better with TACOS (to be fair, that’s true for actual tacos and the prayer structure).
Now for a little throwback to Moses, made real for you and me now…
“No one (no thought, no worry, no doubt) will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, SO I WILL BE WITH YOU. I will never leave or forsake you. Be strong and courageous.”
Joshua 1:5-6
Thank you God for the Ground Beef Heart that brought me to this moment.
Awesome and patient and steady and faithful are just some of the words I know to be true of you.
Checking my heart reveals that it feels like ground beef because I don’t have control of everything and I don’t like that. Help me with that issue please.
Oh, I pray for anyone reading this that they may see YOU in my anxiety and immaturity and awkward faithfulness.
Sitting now in quiet and listening for your word God.
Amen.
how the light gets in 