“Maybe we should homeschool this year, Mama.” Big brown eyes look up at me as my five-year-old daughter swings our linked hands back and forth. “That way we can go to Bible study together.” I pause for a moment, thinking about the questions and concerns that probably underlie this statement.
“Clara, you loved school last year. Are you feeling a little nervous about moving to the elementary school?” A quick nod as she looked down at her toes suggested I was on the right track.
I’ve never really wanted to homeschool, but if I ever do, it’s each morning, as I watch that little strawberry-covered backpack and her waist-length ponytail of ringlets bounce out the front door, knowing I’m going to miss her every second she’s gone. My heart goes with her, and I understand her fears and anxieties, because I have many of the same ones myself.
I understand this so much that last year, I think I was even more anxious than she was. I expected weeks of tears and clinging, and so we spent a lot of time talking about what is true in the weeks before we began dropping her off at Pre-K each morning. While working through our final stack of summer reading assignments leading up to the start of the new school year, we began to revisit these truths. Change is always happening in our lives, and these words from Scripture are relevant in every season. As the school year continues on, the same anxieties kids feel when starting school can resurface.
When these little conversations come up, I work to point our hearts to what is true and to the character of our good God. I don’t ever want to brush off her concerns. Instead, I acknowledge that though these are very real feelings and questions, ones I struggle with as well, God’s Word speaks clearly to each of them, providing us with the safety, comfort, and grace that we need.
She wonders, “Will I be loved?” And I ask, “Will she be loved?”
Of course, I could point her to the fact that we trust that her school has hired kindergarten teachers who will love her. But the best truth to point her to is that no one loves her more than Jesus does. I remind her that her Mommy and Daddy love her unconditionally, no matter what she does; she can never do anything to make us stop loving her. And even more, God’s love for her in Christ is unlimited, as we tell her at bedtime every night. I point her to the truth that nothing at all can separate her from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39). His love cannot be separated from her, and that is an even better guarantee than my own love. We can trust him.
Verse for Meditation
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Rom. 8:38-39
She asks, “Who will take care of me? Who will make sure that I have what I need?” And I ask, “Who will take care of my treasured girl? Who will make sure that all of her needs are met?”
The love of our good God ensures his care for us. His care encompasses all our needs, from skinned knees to needing a hug during a hard morning to navigating a tough relationship with a kindergarten peer. He cares for the birds of the air, and he values her even more than the birds. I can never be all that she needs or even meet all of her needs. All she needs, he will provide. He is holding all things together (Col. 1:16-17). We can trust him.
Verse for Meditation
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” – Matt. 6:25-27
She asks, “Why can’t you go with me?” And similarly, I ask, “Why can’t I go with her?”
It is easy for each of us to buy into the lie that if we’re together, she’s safe. But the truth is that while I am tasked with her safety, the Lord is sovereign over her life. And because of his sovereignty, she is safe in his care, even when I cannot be with her. He goes with her wherever she goes. There is nowhere that she goes where the Lord cannot go. He will never leave her (Matt. 28:20b). We can trust him.
Verse for Meditation
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” – Deut. 31:6
She says, “I can’t fall asleep. I keep thinking about tomorrow.” And I feel anxious about all to come with a new day, new routines, new teachers, and new friends.
What we tell our kids often is still true the night before a new semester or a difficult day—as human beings, we cannot make ourselves sleep. Sleep is a gift from the Lord. It is granted to us. We are limited beings who need sleep, but we cannot manufacture it for ourselves. It’s another way that God provides for us and cares for us. We can rest in the fact that our peace and safety come from him. The God who does not sleep will give us sleep (Ps. 121:3-4). And even in our sleep, we can trust him.
Verse for Meditation
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” – Ps. 4:8
The good news for each of our anxious hearts is that the Lord our God is good and sovereign. He was sovereign yesterday. He is sovereign today, and he is sovereign over all that will come this semester. We can trust him. He is with us, and he goes before us. He is unchanging—the same yesterday, today, and forever.
As we drove Clara and her brothers to the first day of school, we took a moment to pray with them over their day and their year, ending by praying the Aaronic blessing over them like we usually do: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-26, NIV)
School is good for my girl, and it’s good for me too. It’s teaching both of us to trust our good God, who loves us more than anyone else and sovereignly cares for each of us in every moment.
Anxiety: Finding a Better Story is a 31-day devotional for teenagers with daily Scripture readings, breathing exercises, and mental-health resources to bring comfort and hope to those who struggle with anxiety.
