“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”

Charles Spurgeon

As I reflect on certain events from the past few weeks, I am reminded that we live in a crazy world that is filled with evil and hate. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. That thought alone can be quite overwhelming. When we add in fears for the safety and welfare of our children, questions about parenting techniques, stress over their successes and failures – we can become fearful parents trying to parent children in a state of fear.

The thing with fear is that it can grip your heart and mind and start to fully control your actions and emotions. Sometimes fear and anxiety don’t even make sense, they are just there.

A few summers ago, I had this horrible fear that one of my kids might drown. I would literally start crying at the thought of it. We hardly ever went swimming and yet, this fear gripped me so tight that I actually had a few panic attacks. I then became terrified of even being near water with my kids around. This fear made absolutely no sense and yet it gripped my heart and squeezed out all rational thinking.

Thankfully I have some wonderful friends and family that prayed for me and reminded me to “give all my cares to God because He truly does care for me.” And a devotional reminded me that “once you have prayed for your kids and committed them to the Lord, you should not continue to be anxious.” I was also proactive and signed my kids up for swimming lessons!

This past week I found myself becoming anxious again over random things and I really had to force myself to stop with the fear.  It can be a daily temptation to fear because our world is bombarded with craziness.

Here are some things that I’m working on to help keep my fear in check:

1)      Limit the news and media. This week alone I read about stabbings, murders, and people speaking horrible to each other just because they disagree. I forced myself to turn off the news and limit my time on social media. It was amazing how my anxiety began to instantly decrease.

2)      Limit technology. Preview movies and video games. So much technology supports bullying, violence, and lifestyles that aren’t healthy. We shouldn’t be fearful parents, but we should be proactive parents.

3)      Make your family time together quality. Put down the phones. Turn off the computers. Spend time with each other. Have fun!

4)      Teach your kids that kindness does matter. Our world is filled with people that think if you don’t agree on an issue, you can’t be nice to each other. A simple smile can go a long way in this world.

5)      End the day well. Don’t go to bed frustrated with each other. Talk through any issues of frustrations from the day.

6)      Tell your kids that you love them. You can never say it too much.

7)      Commit your family to the Lord and give Him your fears. He listens and He cares.