Then, There Was Keren

Matthew 6:25-34

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33-34 – from Charles Orr

The words of Jesus.  The most precious words in the Bible.  I have to admit that I have a hard time reading anything outside of the gospels because I just keep wanting to come back to Jesus’s time on earth.  I know that men wrote these books, but they documented the words from our Savior, Himself.  I have a hard time tearing myself away from them.  And in this section are words to live by – DO NOT WORRY!

I am a worrier.  I come by it honestly, as my mom will attest to. I am constantly thinking about the bad things that can happen and it has caused me to live my life small.  I shy away from risks, forbid my children to take part in certain things, and cringe when I’ve heard some of the stunts they have pulled without my knowing.  Most of all, though, I have worried about the well-being of my children.  Everyday I would question what I would do if something happened to them.  I would put myself in different scenarios and try to figure out what I would need to do to ensure safety.  I constantly worried about tomorrow. Then, there was Keren.

Keren was not like my other three.  They are wild and full of life, but were pretty trainable and never really took dangerous chances when they were little.  Yes, I had to call Poison Control on each of them at one point in their lives, but it was for eating too much toothpaste or spraying 409 in their mouths because it felt funny.  With Keren, I was afraid I was going to get Child Services called on me because I had to call Poison Control so many times.  She was into EVERYTHING.  She would put anything in her mouth, climb on anything high, pull on anything she wanted to see, and stick an object into any hole she found (including electrical outlets and her ears).  I said many times that I was so thankful every time I put her to bed without any injuries.  I worried about her constantly.  And then came the day when I couldn’t put her to bed anymore.  All my worrying had not saved her life.

In preparing for the trip she was taking with her grandparents, I thought about the different scenarios that could happen and I mainly focused on dry drowning because they would be swimming in their hotel pool and Delmer and Delores had never taken them swimming before.  I knew what an animal she was in the water and it terrified me that they wouldn’t know what to do if she inhaled too much water or to watch for signs for the effects after she was out of the pool.  I remember Delmer coming over the day before to get their suitcases and little “couchbeds” they would be sleeping on in the hotel.  I had forgotten to send something with them and I had to run back over to their house to drop off one more thing and found Delmer and Delores on the porch watering their ferns together.  I remember feeling uneasy because this was the first time the girls would be going on a trip without me.  But I kept telling myself not to worry, that everything was going to be fine.  But yet, I worried.  I couldn’t help it.  And what good did that worrying do? None.  I could have told them they couldn’t go.  I could have taken away the joy they all felt about going on this trip because I worried too much.  I could have, but I didn’t.  I’ve thought a million times about how I could have saved her life and spared Phoebe her injuries.  But even if I had said they couldn’t go, who’s to say that something equally awful wouldn’t have happened that day or the day after?

I believe the point Jesus is making is that we are not supposed to focus on the physical, the temporary, but the Kingdom, the eternal.  He says that God will take care of us.  That doesn’t mean that if we believe then nothing bad will happen.  It also doesn’t mean once something bad has happened, nothing else bad is going to happen.  It does mean that God will take care of us – through the good and the bad.  If you get terminally ill, God has got you.  If your child dies, God has got you.  If you become critically injured and can’t provide for your family, God has got you.  If you are physically, verbally, mentally abused, God has got you.  That doesn’t mean He will rescue you from your worldly troubles, but He will rescue your soul.  He will give you peace here and everlasting life forever if you will seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness first.