“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)
For the anxious mother, God has provided a solution in His Word.
It is simple: Pray. Give Thanks. Repeat.
It covers all of life: Don’t be anxious about ANYTHING. Pray about EVERYTHING.
And it comes with a promise: God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Yet I sometimes treat prayer as if it doesn’t work. I do this by not praying or thanking but by worrying instead.
“I’ve tried praying before,” I excuse myself, “and God’s answer was different than what I asked for. So what’s the use?” Or, “I tried praying and didn’t feel more peaceful. I must not be doing it right.”
But the peace of God is more than a flimsy feeling of peace. It is a knowing, a settled confidence in the sovereign goodness of God that will guard against all anxious feelings.
As we pray and give thanks IN EVERYTHING, our trust in God deepens and His peace pervades our lives. Anxious thoughts don’t have the same sticking power, and eventually, they go away.
So lately I’ve been trying to simply obey God’s Word in Philippians 4. I still have a lot to learn about prayer, but I can tell you this: my faith, peace and gratefulness to God have grown, and my temptation to anxiety has decreased.
Scripture is true, and as anxious mothers, we would do well to believe and obey.
I’m racing to get some meals in the freezer before my baby gets here (update coming soon). As you saw on 52home last week, Mom and I made a large batch of marinara sauce. Since you asked for the recipe, here it is. A longtime family favorite!
Basic Marinara Sauce
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 28 ounces cans whole tomatoes, preferably imported (give tomatoes a quick whirl in food processor)
1 12 ounce can tomato paste
½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
In a large heavy pot, saute garlic in olive oil over medium high heat for about 1 minute. Do not brown! Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Add remaining ingredients, adding parsley last, and simmer 20 minutes.
Meat Sauce Variation: Brown 1 pound meatloaf mix (ground beef, pork, and veal). Drain. Prepare marinara sauce as directed above. Add meat mixture after adding the tomatoes.
Pink is slowly piling up in our home. We now have pink blankets, pink clothes, and even a pink (and red) room. I love this little girl thing!
And this little girl is almost here. I am now at 39 weeks, and if she doesn’t come in the next few days I will be induced this Thursday, October 28.
The boys and Brian can’t wait for baby Claire to come, but I’m hoping she’ll hold off a few more days. I still have to finish my “nesting list.”
It has been seven years since we brought a baby home from the hospital, and, to be honest, I’m a bit rusty! I’ve been walking the baby aisles at Target and Walmart trying to recall what supplies I will need to care for a newborn. I found new “advanced” bottles that didn’t exist seven years ago (how many advances in bottle technology can there be?), and began worrying about all the other things I might be “missing”. I had to stop and remind myself that I already have “the essentials”: a few sleepers, diapers and wipes, a bassinet, and a car seat. We’ll be just fine. And I’m sure the new mommy skills will all come back to me very quickly!
I would very much appreciate your prayers this Thursday. We’ll let you know when little Claire Chesemore arrives!
“Children are a precious gift from God, but much anxiety comes with them. They may be a great joy or a great bitterness to their parents….In all cases, the Word of God gives us one receipt for the curing of all their ills, ‘Bring him unto me.’ O for more agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are yet babes! Sin is there, let our prayers begin to attack it….Never must we cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless while Jesus lives.
The Lord sometimes suffers His people to be driven into a corner that they may experimentally know how necessary He is to them. Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to flee to the strong for strength, and this is a great blessing to us. Whatever our…need may be, let it like a strong current bear us to the ocean of divine love. Jesus can soon remove our sorrow, He delights to comfort us. Let us hasten to Him while He waits to meet us.”
~Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, September 17, Morning
“Prayer is the unfailing resource of the anxious mother,” to paraphrase Charles Spurgeon:
“If they are driven to their wits’ end, they may still go to the mercy-seat….Let us never forget to pray, and let us never doubt the success of prayer… Mirth and carnal amusements are a sorry prescription for a mind distracted and despairing. Prayer will succeed where all else fails.”
We are often “at our wits’ end” with our children. We feel like we’ve tried everything and we don’t know what else to do. So we worry: Will my toddler never stop throwing temper tantrums? Will my teenager ever open up to me again? Will my children ever turn to Christ?
But instead of worrying, we are to cry to the Lord on behalf of our children. We must not forget to pray. And we must believe that prayer works: it will succeed where all our mothering efforts fail.
What worries do you need to bring to the mercy-seat today?
“They…were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” Ps. 107:27, 28
