I’d be lying if I told you waving goodbye to my three middle schoolers every morning as they ride off on their bikes is easy. Or that dropping my two elementary kids off at school never causes anxiety. Worry seems to come with parenthood right along with the dirty diapers and temper tantrums.
Every stage gives parents something to be concerned about. Filling out questionnaires at the pediatrician’s office don’t help us in the worry department. Is your newborn getting enough to eat? Is your toddler reaching appropriate milestones? Is your preschooler getting too much screen time? If we’re not careful, by the time our child starts kindergarten, we’ve fretted our way through five years of their life.
Eventually, no matter how optimistic you lean, every parent will face “what if” scenarios and have to learn how to manage their worries and fears; it’s only natural. Some of us hold on as tight as we can, controlling everything we can. Some of us close our eyes, throw caution to the wind, and hope for the best. I admit, there are times I’ve done both- though I naturally tend to be more of a control freak when I worry. Which way do you lean?
As my kids grow, my worries grow with them. The child I used to worry if she was drinking enough milk at thirteen months old is now the child I worry will crash her bike riding home from school. Or worse. Too many parents in our country sent their kids to school and they never walked back in the door that afternoon. What guarantee do I have that nothing will happen to mine? None.
As the questions bombard me, and the insecurity rises up, I have a choice to make. Give in to the fear and let it wreak havoc on my heart, or push it away and replace those thoughts with prayer.
Last week there were moments when fear began to get a hold of me. And once it creeps in about one child it tends to snowball into the rest, and suddenly, I’m worrying about all five. If I choose to.
But I don’t. In each case, within about thirty seconds, I turned to God in prayer. I talked to Him and shared my concerns. I told Him my worries and asked Him to direct my thoughts. Why? Because that’s what the Bible says to do. (And I’ve learned the hard way that it can be trusted.)
“Don’t be anxious about anything; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and requests and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.” Philippians 4:6 (the Voice)
This happened several times for me last week. God brought me peace right in the middle of worries and fear. Instead of allowing my day to get derailed by worry, I was fueled by peace. And while everything wasn’t perfect, we had a great week overall.
As a mom, I do not want to spend my days worried about what might happen to my kids. I’ve entrusted all five of them to God knowing He is ultimately in control. I’ve committed to do the best I can to train them and teach them in the ways they should go, but I cannot be with them every second of the day controlling their every move and protecting them from every possible danger. It’s not doable. So I pray. I pray for protection, I pray for conviction, I pray for courage, I pray for wisdom.
It’s not foolproof, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, but I have peace. And Peace gets me through my day.