I plopped down at my desk, ready to make the day’s “to-do” list and figure out how my children and I would beat the sweltering summer heat. But, as I flipped open my planner, it was like someone turned on that creepy music you hear in scary movies. My eyes took in the horrid sight set before them:
August.
Somehow, the hazy, lazy days of summer had run together, and I’d failed to realize that August would begin the next day—followed shortly by the start of a new school year.
Cue more forbidding music and bloodcurdling screams.
While starting a new school year can be tough on all kids (and mamas!), our family has experienced new levels of pain and distress trying to help our special needs child make this transition. So, as I glanced over the fresh, unmarked days laid out on the calendar before me, scenes from August’s past haunted my mind.
A million questions snatched away my peace, questions like:
What if he screams and refuses to get out of the car again?
How do I help the teachers understand him?
What can I do if other children bully him?
My “to do” list became a “to worry” list—and I quickly filled it up with all the various and sundry ways of how our back-to-school could go wrong.
Can you relate? Unfortunately, this world offers no shortage of peace-stealing, brain-frazzling things to worry our minds. It seems like whatever stage or season of mothering you’re in, fear lurks behind every corner, ready to body-slam you down an anxiety spiral.
When that spiral hits me, I’m quick to search “Dr. Google” for answers—yet those searches rarely deliver the peace I need. We live in an era with loads of information available at our fingertips, but ironically, all that knowledge doesn’t seem to soothe our fear, does it? Sometimes, it even feeds it.
Helpful articles and blog posts have their place, but when my Googling leads to hand-wringing, I’m learning to lean into Paul’s admonition to the Philippians:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
Though Paul wasn’t a mom, his God-inspired wisdom reminds us that the peace our mama hearts need is found in Christ alone—and these verses give us the roadmap to get there! So the next time our peace evaporates, let’s remember to:
1. Rejoice in who God is by delighting in His steadfast, sovereign, and loving character. He’s been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful in every fear we face.
2. Reach out in prayer, bringing our honest cries and requests to Him. We can approach God confidently, knowing He lovingly helps us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
3. Relish God’s goodness by thanking Him for all His blessings, big and small. Gratitude opens the door to the peace and contentment we desire!
As promised in this passage, we’ll then be able to accept and rest in the unshakeable peace of God—the kind that Dr. Google can never provide!
Friend, no amount of knowledge will deliver the serenity of Christ’s presence. Today, let’s be mamas who stand on God’s peace in every season.
With Grace,
**This post first appeared at Able Moms
