Worry

What keeps you up at night, tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep?

• Is your baby struggling to settle and only sleeping for short bursts, leaving you overtired?

• Is your son starting kindergarten after the summer, and you're unsure how it will go?

• Are your daughter's grades not up to par, putting her promotion to the next grade at risk?

• Is your child hanging out with the wrong crowd?

• Does your child need speech therapy, motor skills support, and/or psychological assistance, or are they facing an evaluation?

• Is your child excessively shy, rebellious, dreamy… ?

  ….

There's a saying:

"Mothers don't sleep; they worry with their eyes closed.”

I am not a fan of this phrase at all! But it shows how acceptable worry has become in a mother's life. If you don't worry, maybe you don't care.

In many of my mommy groups, the number one topic of conversation was worry about the future, what might or might not happen to their child. It's like we're all in this together and somehow we feel better, shared worry is only half worry? I don't believe that's true. Think about it, when you go home after a similar interaction, do you feel better? Do you feel hopeful and encouraged?

No, am I right?

Let's look at the definition of worry: to feel or cause to feel anxiety or apprehension about actual or potential problems.

I heard a person say once, and I'm going to butcher it because I don't remember it well enough. It is that most of the things we worry about never happen.

Isn't that powerful?

I know that there is this deep worry that clouds family lines. Worry is deeply rooted and passed down from generation to generation.

Sometimes we get so attached to that friend that we can't let go, or most of the time we don't know how, or worse, we're not even aware of it, like a sting in our side that's been there so long that it's numb.

Can we rise above mom-worry?

Rise up, woman of God, even if your family line has feasted at the table of worry, or the women around you have gathered around the same meal, you can change that for yourself, your family, and the Generations after you.

Scripture points out that "worry is ultimately rooted in a lack of trust in God and His purposes.

I have studied worry in the Bible, and over and over again we are told not to worry. But somehow, worry has crept into our churches and isn't really challenged.

Worry becomes destructive when we stop focusing on the present and let it take over, sending us into a destructive downward spiral.

We dwell on troubling issues day and night.

These thoughts consume us. They paralyze us and drag us down.

A casual "Don't worry so much" from a friend doesn't help either.

Decide to give this downward spiral no room!

Worries often begin with something real.

• Your baby isn't sleeping.

• Your child is hanging out with the wrong crowd.

• Your child always does the opposite of what you say, and still at ten years old.

  …

It's real, and it's a way to stay engaged. But what we often create in our minds is no longer realistic, it is highly fictitious. And if you entertain in your mind long enough that your baby will never sleep, your child will never obey, or your child will always be negatively influenced by his peers, then what are we expecting, thinking, and sometimes even talking about the situation?

Our only preoccupation with the worrisome issue is a projection that is far from hope when we know from Scripture that God promises us a future and hope.

Take these feelings of worry and turn them into opportunities to trust God.

Opportunities to get involved today, opportunities to find the gold in your children, opportunities not to leave them to whatever might happen, but to be active as mom and dad. To believe in them, to encourage them, to see them blossom. For them to rise above the circumstances, for change to take place, for the ground to be prepared so that the seeds can grow and the miracles can take shape.

Of course, this also means not sitting back in your comfortable chair and watching as if something might happen, but just waiting.

Let's look at a few steps you can take:

• If you have a feeling that this worry thing is more than just a bad habit, and more like something you've received as a familiar spirit, cut it off. Ask God to cleanse you from the effects, and to cut any spiritual ties that keep you bound. Ask for forgiveness.

• Then, when the thought tries to enter again, stop the rumination, quote the Scriptures, and stay free.

• And then actively parent your kids. Empower, encourage, and change the way you talk.

There may be other ways God asks you to lean in, and listen to His voice.

There are a lot of small steps in this worry-free lifestyle. But once you start, you will feel the freedom that comes from simply cutting off the soul ties and speaking His Word in the situation.

I leave you with powerful Bible verses. Meditate on them, post them in your home, and read them over and over.

2 Tim.1:7 For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.

1 Peter 5:7 Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.

Psalm 46:10 Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth.

Hebrew 13:6 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

John 14:27 “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!

Colossians 3:15 Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One, who called you to peace as part of his one body. And always be thankful.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now, may the Lord himself, the Lord of peace, pour into you his peace in every circumstance and in every possible way. The Lord’s tangible presence be with you all.

Matthew 6:25 “This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing—everything your body needs. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t your body more than clothing?

Psalms 23:4 Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Psalms 34:4 Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears!

Jeremiah 29:11-12 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”