If I'm Not Worried ...
My 11-year-old son has a tendency to get ultra-concerned about any sound he thinks he hears downstairs while we are trying to go to sleep upstairs.
Several times a week, he comes into our room and says, "What was that sound?" Or "Did you hear that thud?" Or "It sounds like someone's walking around downstairs? Did you lock all the doors?"
And of course, every time I've gone to check downstairs, it's been fine.
The last time he came into my room worried over a sound he thought he heard, I sighed. And in exasperation I said, "Child, you need to relax. My room is closer to downstairs than yours is anyway, so I can hear better than you can. And I didn't hear anything. I'm the mom; let me worry about it. And if I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either."
If I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either.
Oh, how familiar that message felt. It is the exact same message God has been trying to get through to me for years as I have struggled with anxiety over every little thing, wondering if I am doing good enough and making the right decisions:
"Child, you need to relax. I can see things better than you can anyway. I am God; let Me worry about it. And if I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either."
Several times a week, he comes into our room and says, "What was that sound?" Or "Did you hear that thud?" Or "It sounds like someone's walking around downstairs? Did you lock all the doors?"
And of course, every time I've gone to check downstairs, it's been fine.
The last time he came into my room worried over a sound he thought he heard, I sighed. And in exasperation I said, "Child, you need to relax. My room is closer to downstairs than yours is anyway, so I can hear better than you can. And I didn't hear anything. I'm the mom; let me worry about it. And if I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either."
If I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either.
Oh, how familiar that message felt. It is the exact same message God has been trying to get through to me for years as I have struggled with anxiety over every little thing, wondering if I am doing good enough and making the right decisions:
"Child, you need to relax. I can see things better than you can anyway. I am God; let Me worry about it. And if I'm not worried about it, then you don't have to be either."