Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

Worrying over our grandchildren’s relationship with Jesus has been a recurring theme for me lately. Now I can hardly believe that I first wrote that opening line two years ago. Things with our grandchildren have gotten easier with some and harder with others. Some days it feels as if our hearts are being pulling in opposite directions, and I need that peace that is waaaaay beyond anything I can understand sometimes! When they were small, everything seemed pretty simple. We took them to church; prayed with them and made sure they had plenty of cookies. But now they are older, some days it feels as if I am slogging through a mud bog trying to communicate even the basics of what it means to be a Christian. As I tossed and turned through another middle of the night worry the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that I was not alone. I was forgetting that ultimately that job is His and that He loves them way more than I do. It is hard to trust God with people who are the closest to us. Yielding control over our spouse, a child a grandchild or a friend means letting God take over. Back in 2005 Carrie Underwood recorded a song called, “Jesus Take the Wheel!” and its message was exactly what we need in our most anxious moments. We need to let go of our grip so that God can steer. Jesus won’t just rip the steering wheel away. He will allow us as many nights as we wish to toss and turn. But when we are worn out with worry and fed up with fear God is waiting and even longing for us to trust that He knows how to fix things better than we do. Only He has the strength to carry our worries and has promised a peace that stretches from our anxious hour all the way to heaven!

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer!  - Corrie Ten Boom