Trusting Him With the Binkies... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6 ESV My two-and-a-half-year-old loved his binky. He had moved into a big-boy bed, he was potty trained, but that little plastic remnant of his babyhood still remained. We begged, we bribed, we threatened—but he just wouldn’t give it up. I can’t say if I prayed specifically about the binky, but I do try to cover all aspects of parenting in prayer. When I’m anxious, I pray. When I’m exhausted, I pray. When I feel uneasy about a transition or next step, I pray. I take it all to Jesus because I can’t bear the thought of parenting without Him, and because I want Him to be the very center of my role as a mom. I was worshiping the Lord one morning when I felt a very clear directive in my heart: “Today is the day to take away the binky.” It wasn’t the physical part of me that urged this step—that part of me was so exhausted I couldn’t bear the potential of losing more sleep as a result of removing the binky. It wasn’t my rational side, either—that part would have taken it away a long time ago. It couldn’t possibly have been my emotional side—I dreaded the tears that were sure to come from the little boy I love so much. I know it seems strange, but I think the Holy Spirit was nudging me to take away the binky at that very moment. So I did—and I have no other word to describe the result than miraculous. Sure, my little man shed a few tears, but it was more like he was mourning the loss of a good friend than rebelling against my decision. He took his nap without a hitch and only asked for the binky a time or two. He went to bed tear-free. No wailing. No screaming. No fit-throwing. You mommas know how huge this is! The whole thing has me wondering,Did God mean what He said when He told me I could trust Him with everything? Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everythingby prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (ESV emphasis added). Everything? Really? I guess a part of me always assumed this verse meant “everything” as in everything spiritual, or everything I wouldn’t be too embarrassed to mention in my Sunday school class. But everything, everything? I guess I’ve never really trusted that God cares about the insignificant worries of my life, like when to take away the binky.But the lack of a battle over a much-loved binky has me wanting to take God at His Word. It’s got me thinking that He really does care about every corner of my life and that I can truly trust Him with every detail. Certainly that doesn’t mean that all battles will be so easily won, but it does mean that God is with us through every parenting trial no matter how huge or seemingly insignificant. Action Step: Remember the little steps toward faith. What about you? Is there evidence that God cares about the “small stuff” in your life? If you are a mom, can you think of a time when God helped you parent in an area that was making you feel anxious or unsteady? Write it down in the margins of your Bible next to Philippians 4:6 as a reminder to trust God with the “binkies” as you parent. A Mom’s Prayer Lord, thank You for Your promise that I can cast my cares on You as an alternative to anxiety. Help me to trust You more and more with the little stuff in my family that makes me feel worried, upset, or stressed.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:58:13 +0000
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