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She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.—PROVERBS 31: 25
I think I have the worry gene, and I’m sure I got it from my mother. She passed down to me her aqua-blue eyes, her slightly crooked smile, and her tendency to worry.
When I was a teenager, I thought it was strange that my mom couldn’t go to sleep until I got home. Then I got married, became a mom, and then years later, my children became teenagers. And guess what? Now I do what my mom did: sit on the couch appearing to watch television while my mind rehearses the quickest route to the hospital.
We moms can find endless reasons to worry. Kids. Marriage. Finances. Health. Relationships. The future. If we let our thoughts run wild, we can concoct all sorts of terrible scenarios, all starting with “what if.” What if my husband gets laid off? What if my aging parent needs to live with us or move into a nursing home? What if my teen makes a bad choice? What if something is wrong with my baby’s development?
Over time I’ve noticed something about worry: 99 percent of my past fears never came to pass. However, I spent oodles of time fretting about them. How I wish I could redeem that time and do something productive instead! What if I had turned my worry into worship?
Contrast my attitude with the woman in Proverbs 31: 25: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” There’s no weariness in her thoughts and actions. She laughed at the days to come—not in a careless sort of way, but with a confidence that came from God.
Because she wore strength and dignity due to her faith in God, she had a smile on her face and laughter in her heart when she considered the future. She trusted in God, whose faithfulness in the past assured her He would work out circumstances in the future.
God can use our tendency to worry to grow our faith. As we learn to turn our panic into fervent prayer and praise, trusting God’s plan and timing, our relationship with God will be strengthened. Each time we turn worry into worship, we will find it easier to laugh at the days to come, like our Proverbs 31 sister.
God knows our future as well as He knows us. Our act of trust is to seek to know Him more as we place our future in His hands.
Oh, and to laugh a little more often.
Dear Lord, help me turn my worry into worship, believing that You are in control of the future. May I rest in Your loving arms, knowing You have my best interests at heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen
What are your three greatest worries as a mom? List them.
Take each of those three worries and pen a prayer to God instead.
