Parental Anxiety
I have a question for the parents today. Do you ever reach a point with your kids where you stop worrying about them? Watching the young parents in my church as they watch over their children reminds me of all the sleepless nights during my own childrearing days when the pressure and anxiety I felt over their safety and well-being was overwhelming at times. Being married to a pilot who flew international trips meant that I was sole-parenting for about half the month, and the responsibility for their care fell squarely on me. Thank God for our church, which walked beside me in my soul-parenting efforts in those days and carried the burden of care with me through pre-school, children, and youth programs. There were other adults who loved and nurtured my kids at church, and I felt the momentary relief that came from trusting them over to the watchful hearts of church members. My youngest daughter is now a member of that same church, and last Sunday morning we gave over the care of my three grandchildren to Tim, Beth, and Gigi, three of the extraordinary human beings who loved on my two kids when they were growing up and continue to love on the next generation in the name and for the sake of Jesus. What a tremendous blessing children’s ministry volunteers are!
When my daughters got married, I was grateful that there would now be someone in their lives taking care of them. I felt relief that there were two lovely husbands who would now shoulder the responsibility for their well-being. I especially felt relieved that they would be right there for my daughters when I couldn’t be. But I still worry. All the time. Do you ever let go of that?
Today I want to dive into Paul’s letter to his church in Thessalonica, where we can feel his parental anxiety coming through the pages. The new church was dealing with problems and persecutions for their faith, and Paul just wanted to run to their side. But like that Mom who can’t turn the car around and sit in her son’s dorm room for a semester, Paul can’t discontinue his own work to come back to check on them. So he sends his trusted friend Timothy to render assistance and encouragement.
1 Thessalonians 3 (Common English Bible)
1So when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it was a good idea to stay on in Athens by ourselves, 2 and we sent you Timothy, who is our brother and God’s coworker in the good news about Christ. We sent him to strengthen and encourage you in your faithfulness. 3 We didn’t want any of you to be shaken by these problems. You know very well that we were meant to go through this. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept on predicting that we were going to face problems exactly like what happened, as you know. 5 That’s why I sent Timothy to find out about your faithfulness when I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I love how Paul repeated himself when he said, “I couldn’t stand it (i.e. being away from them) anymore.” Have you ever felt that way when you were worried over a child? Have you ever wanted to get in the car and go and peek in their window just to assure yourself that they are alright? Have you ever called or texted too much, just to put your anxiety at ease? I have.
You know, there is an antidote to this kind of worry: it’s called prayer.
When the weight of parenting gets too heavy, it is good to let it press you straight down to your knees. By turning our loved ones over to God’s care, we know we have reached out to One who loves them even more that we do and has the power to protect, guide, and save them in ways that we never could. Paul tells his church that he had been praying “night and day” (verse 10), a good reminder to take our anxiety to God daily in prayer and leave it there.
And maybe you could be a Beth, Tim, or Gigi to a child in your church or neighborhood. If you ask any of them why they have volunteered in children’s ministry for so long, they will recount countless blessings they have received from their work. Are you being called to be blessed to be a blessing so that young parents in your church can have a moment of respite? There is no more vital work to be done than that, I promise you.
Today’s Scripture is an opportunity to take a moment to practice waiting on God. Can you replace your anxiety as you wait for God to resolve something this week by simply praying about it, night and day? Give it a try. God is able!
Waiting on God by Michelle Robertson