I want to be completely honest with you. I almost got in my car and drove across town to get my kids from school last week when I saw the breaking news about the local school shooting. There is nothing I feel more fiercely about than protecting my children.
But then I remembered….
Yes, part of my job is to protect them. But the other charge we are given by God as parents is to equip them. I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t feel qualified to equip my children to live in this crazy world! But I do know the One who is qualified and who will give us everything we need to help them navigate this world.
There are two verses that come to mind and that I share with my kids regularly. The first one is what I cling to when I have the urge like I did last week–-to circle the wagons, pack it all up, move to a ranch in Montana, and become homesteaders:
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” -2 Timothy 1:7
When we believe in Jesus, he gives us the Holy Spirit. I read recently that becoming spiritually mature really just means learning how to hear and heed that Spirit, how to let it override our knee-jerk fleshly desires. Planting this verse deep in my heart helps me focus on what the Spirit wants me to do as a mother, wife, friend, doctor, instead of what my sinful nature wants me to do.
The other verse is so, so important for us Mamas to remember when we think this world is too crazy for our kids. The Book of Esther isn’t a very long book, but it is such a fascinating story to read, especially for us girls. But the principle in Esther 4:14 applies to us all: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
The truth is that nothing is a surprise to God. As shocking and terrifying as things in this world may seem, He isn’t shocked or scared, ever. In fact, He is continually preparing us so that even when evil seems to be surrounding us, we are ready to go to battle. Will their be casualties? The hard answer is yes, in this life, there will be, but not in the life to come for believers. So, as a parent in 2024, I trust that God hand-picked my babies for such a time as this. And He hand-picked us to be their parents, to teach, to prepare, to equip them for such a time as this. And there is nowhere that I or my babies will ever go, nothing we will ever see or experience, that can remove us from His love, peace, and power!
Friends, staying close to Jesus and knowing and believe His word is the only way to survive (and thrive!). Knowing that this life isn’t the end, it is only the battleground, helps me keep moving forward with courage. And thank God, I have the assurance that my children “can face uncertain days because He lives”!
And I close with this quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
Jesus loves you, and so do I!
Dr. Allison Key