From The Director, Kathy Irvin:
March 2009
Today is the deadline. My article is due to Donna Calk, the AJN Board member responsible for printing the newsletter, by midnight. Every month I keep my ears and eyes open for inspiration, for the right message. It is never easy but some months more obvious than others. Quite often I have a conversation with God letting him know the due date is approaching and I am idealess. I had one of these conversations this morning on my way to work. Usually he comes through-sooner.
So I am stalling at my desk this morning, moving piles and organizing again. In walks Jane Lionberger, one of our KUC ministers, and says, "I think we should pray." It took me 15 minutes of chatter and Jane actually praying before the light bulb went on. Okay God, I get it. We need to pray.
I don't know about you, but I need to turn off MSNBC and pray. The President, the senator, the bailout, the house, the job, the stock market, the retirement, the bills, the spouse, the children, the friends. The dreaded "what if..." . And no matter how hard we try, we can't save the world, ourselves or even our children. We can plan and protect, but ultimately we are not in total control. And, the inability to control doesn't feel good.
Not in control or out of control, isn't this often the definition of parenting? We try hard to regulate sleep, toileting, manners, friends, language. We can purchase schools, nannies, tutors, specialists, clothings, sports, camps, experiences. We can warm against the boogie man, the bully, the bad words, the consequences. None of this parenting is "bad", and most of it is done out of love and concern. But ultimately our children will leave our sides, move beyond our sight into a world of others. Not in control or out of control, isn't this the experience of prayer? Or, as my Dad would say, "letting it go and turning it over." And so we need to pray, for our children, for those they will encounter, for ourselves. We need to pray with our children, in our cars, before we fall asleep, as we start our days. We need to tell our children that we are praying for them, for their friends, for their teachers, for our president and for our world. Through our actions and words we need to show our little ones, and big ones, that it is not all up to us and that we are not alone. This is our greatest gift to our children and should be first on any list. God never promises that the journey will be easy, but he does promise that we are never alone. After all, don't we pray, "through the valley of the shadow"? Through-not in it to stay! Look up your 23rd Psalm. We will get through this with Him and with each other, the parenting and the other stuff too. Let us pray.