This morning,
…as I read through the wonderful 4th chapter of Philippians (and struggled to narrow its riches down to a bite-sized morsel to share), I remembered an incident from almost 30 years ago.
I was a full-time pastor in Ft. Worth, Texas and was working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at what was then Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary) in San Francisco, California.
Mrs. Sweetie was a stay at home mom, taking care of our kids (maybe 8 & 5 at the time of this particular incident) and working a couple of days a week as a home-bound teacher for a young man with muscular dystrophy.
I was in the homestretch of the program and was stretched about as thin as I could imagine—often heading back to my office at the church after the kids were in bed so I could work on my dissertation without disturbing anyone.
I let the pressure get to me and, on this particular day, I snapped at my daughter over something minuscule.
At bedtime that night, I sat with her and asked her to forgive me. I told her that I was stressed, anxious, and tired but that was not an excuse to take it out on her.
As she has with my every failure for her (now) 36 years of life, she forgave me and told me she loved me.
The next day after school (long before I arrived home), she got on the family computer and typed these words:
She printed it out, trimmed it, and glued it to a notecard.
That evening, she gave it to me and said, “Daddy, maybe you can keep this with you and pull it out and read it when you get stressed.”
Whew!
In case you’re wondering, the answer is yes; I still have that notecard (it’s not the one in the attached photo).
We are living in some high anxiety times.
If we’re not intentional in our focus, we run the risk of letting our inner anxieties spill out and splash on those around us.
But it’s not enough just to keep it to ourselves. We need to be constantly reminded to release it to Jesus.
Maybe we all need to carry these verses around in a tangible, touchable form in these anxiety-filled days.
Whatever it takes to remind us that we can cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).
The incomprehensible peace of God (Philippians 4:7) accompanies us and guards us when we lean into and fix our eyes on the God of peace (Philippians 4:9).
Be amazing today, my friend.
