As a mom it’s my job to worry. Right?

Every year, the first day of school promises a fresh start. There are new classrooms to find, new teachers to meet, and new friends to make. With so many changes going on, it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of it all.

After the excitement has worn off and everything has settled down, it’s only natural to fall into a new routine – or at least it should be. But not every kid adjusts to new things so easily.

My son doesn’t handle change well. Every year on the first day of school, I wonder how he is going to adjust. The thought of new teachers, new classrooms, and different students overwhelms him. And falling into a new routine is always a challenge.

When the time came for him to start high school I was a nervous wreck. There would be so many changes thrown at him all at once. I worried he was going to forget his schedule, get lost in the halls, and not make it to class before the bell rang. And let’s not forget his grades. I fretted over those too. I was sure all of this newness would cause him to fail every single one of his classes. It was going to take all of my strength to not pin a copy of his schedule to his shirt and walk him to every class.

All I wanted was for my son to successfully adjust to high school. But the truth is, all of this worrying wasn’t helping him. And it wasn’t helping me either. The more I worried, the bigger my fears became.

In Philippians 4:6 God’s word tells us “to not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” God is strong enough to calm any worry or fear we have, but we still need to ask him for help. He wants us to continually bring our needs to him (1 Thessalonians 5:17). When we bring our requests to the Lord we are filled with his peace and our hearts and minds are guarded in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).  

Instead of worrying I began to pray. When I was afraid that he wouldn’t adjust well to the coming changes, I would ask God to make him successful in each new challenge that came his way. If I was fretting about his grades, I would ask God to create a desire within his heart to excel in school. If I felt the need to pin his schedule on his shirt, I would ask God to give me the strength to not do it.

With each prayer I prayed, my worry and fear got smaller and smaller. The more I brought my requests to the Lord, the more I at peace I was. By the time my son started his first day of high school, I was sure he would be fine. With God by his side anything was possible (Matthew 19:26).

Let’s Pray: Lord, we thank you that we can continually bring our fears and worries before you. We pray we will remember to bring our requests before you before they consume us. You are a good and mighty God, powerful enough to guard our hearts and minds. Thank you that you love us enough to replace our doubts, fears, and worries with your perfect peace. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Join the conversion: Do you struggle with worry, fear, or doubt? If so, do find it difficult to surrender those thoughts to the Lord?

Today I am linking up with #DanceWithJesus and Intentional Tuesday.