Set the Worry Aside
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
If we’re being honest with one another there is much to worry about these days. There is a virus spreading rapidly across the world. Many people are ignoring the calls for social distancing to help slow the spread of this virus. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs and more will lose their jobs. Small businesses, the backbone of every community are floundering at best. There is much to worry about these days.
I just proctored my first first-grade grammar and math tests. Camden has completed his first week of homeschool and I’d like to think Allison and I did a better than average job this week at teaching and helping Camden keep a sense of normalcy. Camden’s tests were a combination of fill-in-the-blank grammar and fraction identification. I don’t remember doing this kind of work in first grade. Camden aced his test, missing only one grammar question and to be fair, the question made no sense.
After the test, he came over to me, gave me a hug, and started crying.
I am not his teacher. His teacher, in his words, is “way cooler” than I am. But I am not his teacher. His desk in our basement is not his desk at school. His sister is not the same Nora H. he sits next to at school. Lunch at the kitchen table does not have the same 6-year-old boy jokes and the mac and cheese I make are nowhere near as good as what they serve in the cafeteria.
Photo by Atharva Lele on Unsplash
Bottom line: he knows things are not the same.
As much as we’ve tried to keep a sense of normal and routine, staying home all day, and only playing in the backyard is not the same. We were supposed to have baseball practice tomorrow and batting practice with me is not the same as practicing with his team. While Allison is a great fitness instructor, she is not his Tae Kwon Do master. Facetiming with Elijah or Mimi is not the same as playing together or snuggling and watching a moving.
My buddy and podcasting partner posted this on Twitter the other day - “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” - Philippians 4:6
I’ve been thinking a lot about Philippians 4:6 during the pandemic...
— Taylor Mertins (@taylormertins) March 18, 2020
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
After Camden gave me a post-test hug I told him we’d eventually get back to normal and then with the usual 6-year-old charm he smiled and said, “don’t worry daddy, we’ve got this. We’ll figure it out.” He then gave me a wink and told me he was going upstairs to build some LEGO with his sister.
Rev. Fleming Rutledge is right, Camden is a greater theologian than I will ever be.
We don’t need to worry, well we do, because let’s face it, there are serious things to worry about right now. But our worry does not need to control us. We don’t have the stew in our worry because in prayer we are able to lift these worries to God, knowing that God is always listening, always responding and acting, never leaving us on our own to figure out what is next.
The best and brightest of humanity are working to lower the curve and save lives. Regardless of the latest tweets or daily pressers from the White House, smart and capable are working hard to figure out what to do next. Their commitment and steadfastness give me hope. Knowing we are not in this alone, and that God is with us, allows me to set my worry aside and build LEGO with my children.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
May the Grace and Peace of Christ be with you, now more than ever.