Mommy anxiety hits us all at one time or another. Whether it is a sick child, troubles with friends or challenges in the classroom, we can all relate to the temptation to worry about our kids. Today I invited my friend Caroline Boykin to share her prescription for peace. Here's Caroline...
Her text message read, “I have mono.” My heart sank. My oldest daughter, Amy, a freshman in college, felt crummy over the weekend. My husband and I encouraged her to go to the campus clinic Monday morning. We were thinking common cold, perhaps flu…but mono. UGG! Through broken sobs, she relayed her doctor’s orders: Good nutrition and 6 weeks of complete rest. The nutrition part, not a problem. The 6 weeks of rest, not a possibility! This was my musician, rock-climbing, intramural sports-loving, on-the-go-go-go college student, Amy.
I heard her disappointment and attempted to encourage. Everything would be OK. Not to worry. Her favorite homemade chicken soup was on the way. But between our conversations, my positive words did little to convince my own discouraged heart that this situation was anything other than awful. I inventoried all the great activities Amy had going on at the time (in addition to school work!) and declared silently in my heart: this timing couldn’t be worse.
Oh yes, I knew that God was in control, that He had my precious daughter securely in the palm of His mighty hand. But even so, my “mom anxiety meter” was rapidly escalating, fed by a litany of worries, fear, sadness and helplessness. Late that night, I e-mailed a few dear friends to pray (Karol was one!).
Waking up the next morning, a new list of anxiety-producing concerns for my daughter came rushing to my mind…only to be met quietly, yet powerfully, by simple memory verses I’d learned as a young girl:
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37:7 KJV
And then another:
Jesus answered, “It is written:
‘Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 NIV
Hmmm. Those verses continued to resonate throughout the morning as I made the 2 hour drive to Amy’s college. And then it became crystal clear. I had a bad case of peace-suppressing “Awefulizing” (just as contagious as mono). God’s remedy for relieving my anxiety and restoring a healthy perspective – good nutrition from His word and complete rest (reliance) in Him. The Holy Spirit wielded the Scripture hidden in my heart to successfully combat my discouragement.
As my mind was renewed, my spirit experienced a deep peace that God’s presence and grace would carry my daughter through this illness and that He would Masterfully use it for good (Romans 8:28).
Good nutrition from God’s word and complete rest in Him. It just might be the perfect prescription for what ails you today.
Caroline Boykin is a frequent MOPS speaker and author of The Well-Versed Family: Raising Kids of Faith through (Do-Able) Scripture Memory.
For more information on how you can give your child the treasure of God’s word tucked inside his heart, visit Caroline at her website, http://www.wellversedfamily.com/.
Her text message read, “I have mono.” My heart sank. My oldest daughter, Amy, a freshman in college, felt crummy over the weekend. My husband and I encouraged her to go to the campus clinic Monday morning. We were thinking common cold, perhaps flu…but mono. UGG! Through broken sobs, she relayed her doctor’s orders: Good nutrition and 6 weeks of complete rest. The nutrition part, not a problem. The 6 weeks of rest, not a possibility! This was my musician, rock-climbing, intramural sports-loving, on-the-go-go-go college student, Amy.
I heard her disappointment and attempted to encourage. Everything would be OK. Not to worry. Her favorite homemade chicken soup was on the way. But between our conversations, my positive words did little to convince my own discouraged heart that this situation was anything other than awful. I inventoried all the great activities Amy had going on at the time (in addition to school work!) and declared silently in my heart: this timing couldn’t be worse.
Oh yes, I knew that God was in control, that He had my precious daughter securely in the palm of His mighty hand. But even so, my “mom anxiety meter” was rapidly escalating, fed by a litany of worries, fear, sadness and helplessness. Late that night, I e-mailed a few dear friends to pray (Karol was one!).
Waking up the next morning, a new list of anxiety-producing concerns for my daughter came rushing to my mind…only to be met quietly, yet powerfully, by simple memory verses I’d learned as a young girl:
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37:7 KJV
And then another:
Jesus answered, “It is written:
‘Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 NIV
Hmmm. Those verses continued to resonate throughout the morning as I made the 2 hour drive to Amy’s college. And then it became crystal clear. I had a bad case of peace-suppressing “Awefulizing” (just as contagious as mono). God’s remedy for relieving my anxiety and restoring a healthy perspective – good nutrition from His word and complete rest (reliance) in Him. The Holy Spirit wielded the Scripture hidden in my heart to successfully combat my discouragement.
As my mind was renewed, my spirit experienced a deep peace that God’s presence and grace would carry my daughter through this illness and that He would Masterfully use it for good (Romans 8:28).
Good nutrition from God’s word and complete rest in Him. It just might be the perfect prescription for what ails you today.
Caroline Boykin is a frequent MOPS speaker and author of The Well-Versed Family: Raising Kids of Faith through (Do-Able) Scripture Memory.
For more information on how you can give your child the treasure of God’s word tucked inside his heart, visit Caroline at her website, http://www.wellversedfamily.com/.
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