There are times when it seems everything spirals out of control.  Kids get sick, car breaks down, you lose a job, the basement floods and sibling rivalry is in full swing.

People used to say, “Wait until they become teenagers.  That’s when it really gets hard.  I thought, how can that be?  What could be more difficult than dealing with a teething baby who cannot be consoled, or a huge mess of Legos floating through the house? Or a houseful of kids with the chicken pox?  What about dog food strewn all through the house by your well-meaning toddler?  How about sleep-deprivation from being up night after night, week after week, month after month, year after year with babies and toddlers?

Well, now I understand.  During the early years of development, there is great physical demand on us moms .  As the kids grow older, more of our energy and time is used in the realm of mental and emotional support.  Instead of changing seemingly twenty diapers a day, we now face our growing kids  changing the way they operate; and  just as we came up with a workable game plan!  It changes from feeling like you never have a moment to yourself  to wondering when you will have the whole family together at the same time.  When you thought is was rough getting kids in and out of car seats, you now worry about their safety when they drive away from the house.  Instead of waiting for them to take their first steps, you are watching as they step out into the role for which they were created. As your kids grow up, you are growing as a parent.  You learn that there  are better ways of handling situations than others.  You realize that it’s not worth it to “sweat the small stuff.”  You find that your young adult sons and daughters are more interested in you being a sounding board for their ideas and concerns than they are with you trying to give your advice all the time……they just want you to listen and show interest in their lives.

I’d like to share one incident that happened to us years ago.  We were at the beach, enjoying a beautiful day.  We headed to our RV in the parking lot to have lunch .  A little while later, we walked back to the beach.  We were aware that the temperature had dropped what seemed like 20 degrees. As the kids were playing in the sand and wading along the shore, I suddenly looked behind me and saw the funnel of a tornado.!  Everyone quickly gathered up their belongings and within minutes we were back in the RV.  By the time we got in, the rain started pelting down, the winds whipped fiercely, and we prepared to drive off.  We didn’t get very far before the awning of the RV unrolled and started catching the wind, like the sails on a boat.  The RV was starting to tip over and we thought that we might start flying in the air!  While my husband went outside to re-secure the awning, I was trying to give our oldest son a sense of security and peace.  His face showed great fear and he candidly asked, “Are we going to die?!”  The first thing that came to me was the story of Jesus and his disciples out on a boat during a bad storm.  I quietly shared with our son how Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to be still.  I reassured  him that Jesus was also with us in this storm and that he would take care of us.

As we navigate through life’s storms, we may find ourselves weighed down with worry and fear.  When we can let go of them and cling tightly to the truth that God is always with us, that he will take care of us, that he has things under control,  then we really can experience a supernatural calm in the chaos.