When Sophie was four years old, she misunderstood the words to the famous praise chorus, "I cast all my cares upon you." Instead she bellowed, "I cast all my kids upon you."
How appropriate for mothers today. To fully understand that everything and every person in our life is a gift from God is to cast everything at his feet. I have a friend who can't seem to do that. She so longs to prevent accidents in her children's lives that she won't let them ride in cars with other parents. She won't let her children explore the world -- not without her around. She's afraid. She worries about things that might happen to her children; consequently, she is bound up in fear.
We must cast our children at the feet of Jesus. He made them. He knows them. He loves them a billion times more than we can fathom. We often read Romans 8:38-39 as if those verses were exclusively for us. We forget that God loves our children in like manner. "I am convinced neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We hold on to these gifts -- our children whom God loves -- and believe that we possess them. Essentially, we act as if we own our children.
When we were working toward going overseas to plant churches, we received email from our team leader detailing how their eldest child was getting harassed almost every day. Obviously, we fretted for our own children because in one year they'd be in the same situation. If we had not first cast our children at his feet, we'd be apt to avoid the call on our lives.
American parents seem to believe that a parent's primary role is protection. Sure, we are to take care of our children and prevent harm when possible. Children, however, aren't harm proof. If we live under the illusion that we can somehow prevent their pain, we will live life like my friend -- with great fear. And if we cushion them from every bit of life's pain and consequence, we rob them of becoming decision-making adults. Every decision we make for our children is a decision they cannot make.
Does it agonize me that my children may be injured in school? Of course. I have to cast them at his feet, along with a crib full of fears. I sometimes equate fear with love -- even though doing that contradicts 1 John 4:18: "The one who fears is not made perfect in love." If you are having difficulty casting your children at his feet, consider the following verses.
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4). God will take care of our children. He is infinitely stronger than mere man.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). Not only will God be there for us as we mother our children, he will be with our children when they are out of eyeshot. He will be our children's constant companion.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (Psalm 46:1-3). Life may fall apart. We may fall apart. Our children may fall apart. Yet God promises he will be with us, ever-present.
"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" (Isaiah 41:10). Not only will the Lord give us strength in our feebleness, but he will also strengthen our children to face the world.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). As mothers, we often fret about our children's future, yet God holds their future just as he holds the future of the world.
As Sophie sang, we must cast all our kids upon him -- leaving our fears, worries, and insecurities at his feet. The Lord is more than capable to shoulder our fretting, and as a gentle Shepherd, he will cherish and love our children far better than we can.
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Dear Jesus, I worry about my children. I am bound up in fear for them. Help me to cast them all at your feet today, knowing that you love them more than I can. Teach me to give you all my fears -- every day.
Taken from Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary E. DeMuth; Copyright 2005 by Mary E. DeMuth; Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR; Used by Permission.
Mary E. DeMuth has been a stay-at-home mom and a freelance writer for more than ten year. Along with writing about her husband and three children in a weekly newspaper column titled "Over the Fence," Mary also speaks to women's groups and writes about the redemptive hand of God in impossible situations.