The Little Things

My son is such a perfectionist...
(must be genetic yikes) He gets so worked up, worried and anxious about doing everything perfect. The latest things he is worried about is being able to correctly rip his math sheet out of his workbook. Each week he seems to have a difficult time doing it and is constantly having to tape his paper back together. One day this last week he came home super anxious telling me he wanted to practice ripping sheets out of a coloring book because he needed to learn how to rip out pages correctly. My first thought was, OH HECK NO !!…My second thought, Are you serious ? You want to practice ripping sheets out of a book.. You’ve got to be kidding me?

Even though I thought it was kind of ridiculous I did get him a coloring book so he could practice....but that seemed to make it worse because he just kept obsessing about it. I started getting a little irritated about him getting his undies in a bundle about a freakin math sheet and in time my frustration surfaced….

“There are bigger things to worry about Jett...Come on bro, put things in perspective, there is no need to be worry about a stupid math sheet…You can be practicing a million different things right now and you are choosing to practice ripping out paper from a book…. Think about that for a second”.

His Response: “Mom, you said stupid, that’s not a nice word ” ….. That was seriously his response…As my daughter would say #OMGoodness….. #LosingATLife

But in all seriousness how many of us can relate to not being able to “put things in perspective”. I was fired up initially, but as time passed God started softening my heart and He filled me with empathy for my son. Thoughts started surfacing from my childhood and even into my adult years of my mom quoting those same words to me, “Kara you need to put things in perspective.” Those thoughts humbled me because I've never in my lifetime been able to figure out how to change my own perspective. I’m not sure it is possible to do it in your own strength or willpower. I felt empathy for my son because I knew what I was saying to him he understood, he understood he shouldn’t worry about something so small, but he didn’t know how to stop. How many of us can relate to that? I know I can….

I’ve been trying for thirty years to change my own perspective, but have never been successful. The only thing that has helped me in this area has been to seek God and study His Word. Ive seen God's power in my life (especially in my thought life) when I take my concerns to Him in prayer. I want my children to experience that same power. I decided to pray with my son about his concerns with his math sheet. We both prayed that God would help him feel less anxious about the “math paper dilema”. If I’m being honest our prayer wasn’t very eloquent or proper, we kind of chuckled a little bit as we prayed because it seemed sorta silly, but it wasn't silly to God. I could imagine how happy He was that my son brought his concerns to Him.

Initially my son was embarrassed to pray about his worrisome thoughts, He said, “Mom, do you think God really cares about my math sheet? It’s weird to pray about something like a math sheet isn’t it?” I told him that it’s those things that we know we shouldn’t be worrying about and still do, or those silly fears we might have that God cares about too. I reminded him that if God is powerful enough to help us with the “big things”, we cannot forget about His strength and power in the “little things”. I reminded him that there is no such thing as a big concern or a small concern in God’s eyes. He wants us to go to Him with it all, He just wants our hearts and our time.

I feel like another bit of God’s character was revealed to my son as we talked and prayed. The more my kids learn and understand God’s character the more they learn to trust Him. In this moment my son got to experience once again that God is not an intimidating God, but One of love, understanding and compassion. God wants to comfort us, protect us, and help us have victory in our areas of weakness. He is for us not against us. It’s not God who makes himself seem intimidating or unapproachable. It is all in our perspective. When we learn of God’s character (in scripture) we can start to see Him for who He is, not who we think He is. Our guilt, shame, fear, intimidation, or our silly worries are often what keep us from going to God in prayer, but It’s not God telling us to stay away…It’s all in how we perceive God. Whenever you are hesitant to go to God in prayer remember it’s not God who is making you feel guilt, shame or intimidation. He’s not the one keeping you at arms length. Go to Him so He can set you free from your burdens! 🙏

It’s been a week or so now since we first prayed about the math sheet anxiety….
This morning my son whispered in my ear, “ Mommy can we pray quick before school because I’m starting to get anxious about that math sheet again. I know I can pray to God about those things because now I know He cares!” #LoveIt 🙌 ♥️

1 Chronicles 16:11
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.

Philippians 4:6
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.