Day 5--Don't Worry
When I found out I was pregnant for the first time I was paranoid. I didn't want to eat the wrong thing. I didn't want to exercise (ha ha, we know that is all the time). I wanted to do everything I could do to protect that precious little life. As the months went on I reached certain milestones. Out of the first trimester...safe to tell family and friends. Past 24 weeks....viable pregnancy. And on and on. I kept waiting for the time that I would feel safe. Safe that I could just enjoy my pregnancy. Safe that I could enjoy my baby.
The more I thought about it though I realized there would always be a milestone that I would be nervous about. Some were more scary than others. There is always a risk of miscarriage, SIDS, something going wrong during birth. But eventually you have all the other Mom and Dad fears....car accidents, choking on something that big brother left laying around, kidnapping. It sounds a little crazy, and it is!
This kind of thinking is wrong. It's essentially worrying. Worrying until you get to the next "safe" stage. Thinking that if you can just make it to X point everything will be ok.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying those things aren't possibilities. But it is wrong to worry about them.
I love these verses from Matthew chapter 6.
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
I am thankful that God has given me the responsibility of raising children. And I pray he will give me more. But ultimately my children are not my own. Sometimes I have to give them over to him daily. And it is hard. I want to protect them. I want to take care of them. I want to make sure they are ok.
It boils down to this. I serve a God of love. I may not understand why certain things happen but I have to trust His plan for my life and for the lives of my babies. This is why we prayed for them before they ever arrived. We pray over their lives. We pray that they will know Jesus in a real and personal way. We pray for their spouses. We pray that they will be warriors for the Kingdom of God. We pray that they will love people and that they will show others the love of Christ.
It is much easier to pray for you kids than to worry about them!
The more I thought about it though I realized there would always be a milestone that I would be nervous about. Some were more scary than others. There is always a risk of miscarriage, SIDS, something going wrong during birth. But eventually you have all the other Mom and Dad fears....car accidents, choking on something that big brother left laying around, kidnapping. It sounds a little crazy, and it is!
This kind of thinking is wrong. It's essentially worrying. Worrying until you get to the next "safe" stage. Thinking that if you can just make it to X point everything will be ok.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying those things aren't possibilities. But it is wrong to worry about them.
I love these verses from Matthew chapter 6.
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
I am thankful that God has given me the responsibility of raising children. And I pray he will give me more. But ultimately my children are not my own. Sometimes I have to give them over to him daily. And it is hard. I want to protect them. I want to take care of them. I want to make sure they are ok.
It boils down to this. I serve a God of love. I may not understand why certain things happen but I have to trust His plan for my life and for the lives of my babies. This is why we prayed for them before they ever arrived. We pray over their lives. We pray that they will know Jesus in a real and personal way. We pray for their spouses. We pray that they will be warriors for the Kingdom of God. We pray that they will love people and that they will show others the love of Christ.
It is much easier to pray for you kids than to worry about them!
This is so beautiful and perfect!
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