Nobody knows our kids better than us, Mamas. I mean, I can be out of the room when my oldest, Drake, coughs and I can tell if he’s getting sick, his allergies are acting up, I should get his inhaler for his asthma, if he was messing around drinking out of his cup, or he needs to swallow the candy he’s been sucking on. If you were there, you would just hear a cough. Yet, when I hear him, I have so much more insight.
The same is true when our children are struggling. God has gifted us Mamas to be deeply in tune with what our children are thinking and feeling. It’s almost a Mama superpower. God has given us this innate and natural response to our children’s unrest. We quickly recognize when the “check engine” light is aglow in our child’s heart, and when this happens, we so often rush in to help. Yet, if you are not careful, you can provide help before they themselves even recognize there is a need. If you are not cautious, you can jump start the healing process before they even know they are broken.
Why is this a bad thing? You see, our Mama hearts break a little when our kid’s hearts break. We hate to see them upset, and we truly wish we could shield them from hurting. The reality is though, that we live in a fallen world. There will be people within the course of their life that let them down. When they are let down, they will not always have you there to help. What they will have though is what you taught them. This is why focusing on teaching them how to respond to pain is so much more valuable then fixing the pain.
We must not mistake our Mama superpower of recognizing our child’s pain with the need to fix our child’s pain. It says in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” You see Mama, better than saving the day, is showing your child who can save their life. Teaching them to go to God when they are struggling, how that looks, and how close God is to their pain so more valuable than any problem you’ll solve for them. We absolutely will show up every time our children ask. Let’s just not fool ourselves into thinking our Mama superpower trumps the almighty power of Jesus Christ.
Inaction is difficult. In the meantime, let’s also apply that verse to ourselves. We have anxiety. We have burdens. When our children hurt, we hurt. Lay it at the cross today, having confidence that because you humbled yourself, God will lift you up.