Trusting God With my World

I know most of Mom’s sentences by heart these days, as she tends to be very repetitive. But today she quite spontaneously, and for no apparent reason, said, “My world’s still here.”

I chuckled and replied, “Your world’s still here? Well, that’s good!”
She answered thoughtfully, “Is it?”

And as I busied myself preparing for her bath I thought about my own world, and the pressures and sadness of some life issues, and I felt heavy and stressed. I gave mom her bath, which is never pleasant, and the shadows darkened.

I sat with her later, as we waited for Dad to come home, and she spoke jumbled nonsense and I just wanted to run away from my world. I wanted to sit in a patch of sunshine and look at the diamonds sparkling on the lake. But responsibilities held me in the shadowy place.

Then a verse from my morning’s Bible reading came to mind… “…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Ephesians 5:19-20 (NKJV)

I started singing “How Great Thou Art” hoping Mom would join in, as she sometimes will. But when I paused for her to fill in words she just looked at me blankly. And then she nodded off to sleep in her rocking chair.

Dad soon came home, and I left and was busy the rest of the afternoon with other responsibilities. I called out to God in the bits of time that I was alone and I tried to give thanks for the good I know He’s doing.

The day still feels shadowy to me. I need to spend some more time praying and making melody and giving thanks. And I need to release my cares and “my world” to my Abba Father. My world is still here, but it’s in His loving and mighty hands.

I can let go of its weight and trust Him with it. I can prayerfully listen and obey as He shows me the things He wants me to do about problems. But I can’t, and should not carry my world myself.

I can let go and sing to Him. I can sleep in peace knowing that our Father doesn’t slumber.

My world is still here. And God is holding it.

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This post was from 2013. Now Momma and Dad are at Home with Jesus. I think of them every day as I deal with new challenges I have like cancer and as I enjoy the the new blessings of more and growing grandchildren.

I still need to remind myself to release things to God and to have a thankful heart. But every year I have more evidence of His faithfulness and the grace He gives as we trust our lives to Jesus.

My world is still here. And God is still holding it.