Calming Assurance

For several mornings during the month of April I had the privilege of getting my granddaughter, Ansleigh, ready for preschool.  She would arrive about 0650 hrs., and we would eat Nutella toast, drink OJ, and play together until it was time to get dressed.  It was a fun time--laughing, sharing, bonding--and I hope that she will, one day, realize how much our time together meant (means) to me.  

One morning, while we were playing, she paused, and the following conversation took place:  "Papa, I'm nervous.  My stomach feels funny."  "What is making you feel nervous, Angel?" "I'm nervous about going to afterschool.  Will you pray that I'll not be nervous?" 

"Papa prays for you so many times every day, and we will certainly do that right now."  She climbed up in my lap and pray we did...

Afterschool, I had learned, was that period of time between her regular classroom time (0800-1145 hrs.) and pick-up time, which could be anywhere from 1545-1700 hrs.  That span of time was dedicated to lunch, nap and/or rest, and play, and so I was interested what, in those activities, was causing her anxiety.  She said that her lunch was good and she didn't mind nap time, although sometimes she didn't really nap, and she enjoyed playing with her friends.  But it was being apart from her mom and other family members that was making her nervous.  I realized that, even at four, she liked normal and routine and familiarity.  Just like her, especially in light of the absence, over the past 18 months or so, of our own normal and routine and familiarity, we are still nervous and unsure, and our stomachs, too, still feel funny.

Carl Perkins, singer/songwriter of hits like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Whole Lotta Shakin'," once said, "If it weren't for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song."  We have all groused and complained about the restrictions, difficulties, confinements, and the trials and tribulations of those 18 months.  No one, anywhere, has been unaffected.  As I look back, though, I think it is safe to say that, in spite of all, we have become more resilient and more determined...determined to not only survive but to emerge even stronger.  The "rocks in our beds" have given us a song to sing that is a testimony to God's sustaining power, presence, and grace in our lives.  We have survived because He has sheltered us in His "righteous right hand."  

My 4-year-old granddaughter reminded me that day of the importance of placing our anxiety and worry in God's hands.  Singer/songwriter Andre Crouch, in his work "Through It All," reminds us of the importance of prayer and echoes for us adults what Ansleigh already knew to be true.  He sings, "If I didn't have any problems, I wouldn't know that God could solve them...I wouldn't know what faith in God could do."