Parenting By Faith, Not By Fear
When the world was closed in the global pandemic of COVID 19, as a mom, my heart felt fear. In the beginning it was fear for their safety. The biggest goal was not to get sick. As we learned more and the panic stopped, I feared isolation would get the best of them. I had moments awake at night afraid they would sink into deep depression, or the year shut down would set them back in ways beyond recovering. As we found a rhythm and we slowly re-entered, I feared they may not know how. How to engage with real life humans, how to make friends again, how to live life free and fully alive.
And now our world is open.
I fear they will get physically hurt in one of the crazy activities or outings they are participating in. I fear they will get involved with the wrong friends or someone will take advantage of them. I fear they will make choices that will set them back or make life harder and disable them from living free and fully alive.
No matter what side of the coin you find yourself or the circumstances you sit in as a mom—you can quickly find fear. In fact, it finds you. The world is dangerous, scary, and unpredictable. But we cannot put our kids in a bubble or shelter them from the world, because of our fears. Parents never lack things to worry about. God knows your fears, and He is greater than them all.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:7
Before God entrusted our kids to us, He knew just what they would need. And He saw you and me fit to for each of them! No matter how big or small your fear might be, behind those thoughts is the worry that you may not be “doing it right.” That somehow you’re messing them up and that your mistakes as a parent could hinder God’s purpose for their lives. This is a lie.
Your faithfulness endures to every generation; You founded the earth, and it remains. ~Psalm 119:90
This is a prevailing promise of God. Don’t let your fear persuade you against the truth of His word. Parenting is a bit of trial and error. Not one of us is perfect. But God has entrusted me and He has entrusted you—so I’m leaning into Him. Together we got this.
Our kids are going to make mistakes. I did. And I still do. Mistakes do provide benefits that cannot be gained any other way. So take a deep breathe and remember these are the moments that will shape you child’s faith and give you the chance to be God’s grace and unconditional love extended.
Don’t allow fear to persuade against God’s prevailing promises.
How enduring is God’s loyal love; the Eternal has inexhaustible compassion.Here they are, every morning, new! Your faithfulness, God, is as broad as the day. ~Lamentations 3:22-23
So let’s not be afraid mom. Let’s lean into faith. It’s the evidence of what is unseen, the hope of what’s to come. If I must lean into an unknown outcome, I choose faith over fear. It’s hard to imagine God loves our babies more than we do. And His plans for them will prevail. If we desire for our children to live life free and fully alive—then we must live this out ourselves. That cannot happen when we are locked up in worry. Let’s ignore the voice of fear and no longer listen to the whisper. Let’s not parent out of fear of what might happen or who our children might become, but flip the script and parent by faith of who God desires them to be.
In our house, we have decided to make courageous faith, not fear, our family’s foundation. It’s one of the core values we have established for our Tribe. Learn more about creating your own family’s core values, here.
If you’re looking for more community and conversations around faith and family, join my free Facebook group, the Significant Sisterhood.