Love More & Worry Less

You know the feeling…The one where your heart is going to explode because you love your children so much. There really aren’t any words to fully express how much love and joy you feel for your kids. It’s truly unfathomable. Such great love for our babies also brings about great protection for them too. Enter: MAMA BEAR.

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A lot of times that “I will go to the ends of the earth” kind of love can bring out some anxiousness in our hearts.

Stories I hear on the news, see on social media or read in the paper can leave me with the question, “What if this happened to my family?” Even a scenario on a fictional TV series can take our minds down a scary path.

Sounds so depressing, right? So why do we worry? Simply because we love our babies and we have such an innate desire to protect them. Loving our babies is a great thing. Protecting our babies is our responsibility. But worry is not something we should be prisoners to.

Yea, easier said than done right? I know. I am a worry wart. I’m pretty sure it is genetic and was brought on by amazingly caring Daddy. Being that I struggle with worry, it is really hard for me to push negative thoughts out of my brain.

I would guess that I am not alone in this crazy cycle of fear and anxiety.  I know there are Moms and Dads all over this planet who deal with the same feelings.  I want to give you some comfort so you are not bound by chains of worry.

1. If a negative thought enters your brain replace it with something happy – Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Proverb 12:25 NIV
2. Recognize the anxiety for what it is and remember – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
3. Ask yourself this question – Can you add a single hour to your life worrying? Matthew 6:27 NIV (Read verses 25-34 of this chapter for an even greater perspective)
4. Pray and if you don’t know what to say try this – “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for blessing me with these children. Thank you for trusting me to parent them. God, I am struggling with ______________. I ask you to please guide my thoughts. I know You did not give me the spirit of fear. I know worry does not come from You. I ask in the name of Jesus, You take away my anxiety and my fear. Help me to focus on things above and give me peace. In Jesus name, Amen.”

I struggled with some major anxiety a few years ago-BB (before babies). That is another story for another time but I feel what I gained from that experience applies here.

In Philippians, Paul is writing to the church at Philippi. At this point Paul is in prison, yall! PRISON…and he still is able to provide such meaningful insight. Paul wasn’t worried about his kids but he had the responsibility of teaching God’s children how to deal. These verses are so valuable for anything you may be facing in life.

“(6)Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (7)Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

(8) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:6-8 NLT

Isn’t that amazing? We are not supposed to worry. We are not supposed to fear. Our duty as parents is to love and protect our children. We can cast that burden of worrying to Jesus. We can leave it to God in prayer. In fact HE wants us to give him our cares and concerns. He tells us this in 1 Peter 5:7.

I know this is easier said than done and I still 100% have days that it’s “Worry: 1 Trisha: 0.” I pray that this blesses someone today. So as parents we can change our scores to Worry: 0 Trust in God: Infinity.

When we are not prisoners of worry we can enjoy life with our families even more!

If you have a need today, I would love to know and have the opportunity to pray for you.  Leave a comment or send us an e-mail for prayer requests.