Kept in Love: Lullabies for the Both of UsУзорак

Keep You

Honestly, I didn’t want to leave the hospital. Here, I had 24/7 help and support with my newborn as a first-time mom. When it was time to go home, I remember feeling a bit of disbelief…You trust me to take care of this baby on my own? I had no idea what I was doing.

This feeling of inadequacy persisted with every new challenge:

The baby book said he’d respond differently to the sleep training. What am I supposed to do with these consistently short naps?

He’s never cried like this before. Is he sick? Is he hungry? Is he tired? How am I supposed to know?

He gets so upset when I leave him with the sitter, but I need to get my work done! Is it wrong for me to take time away?

As my son has grown, these concerns keep reappearing in new ways. I’m now trying to navigate how to parent the terrible twos that have apparently come early for us!

Have you felt this inadequacy as a mom? Have you noticed a pestering fear that if you don’t get things right, you might mess up your child? Are you carrying the weighty burden of believing everything is riding on your actions and decisions as a mom?

It can be easy to feel alone and isolated in our anxiety. In times like these, we must remind ourselves of this truth: I am never alone but surrounded and kept in the loving presence of Christ.

In every moment of uncertainty, we can look to Christ’s presence for wisdom.

In every moment of fear, we can look to Christ’s presence for comfort.

In every moment of loneliness, we can look to Christ’s presence for companionship.

Romans 8:38-39 proclaims the glorious reality of God’s constant presence with us, saying,

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can separate you from God’s love. It is with you, within you, and all around you. When you feel anxiety over your child, what would it look like to pray this same protection over them? To release control into the hands of God and ask that his love would be with them to guide and guard them all the days of their life? To pray, as the lyrics of “Keep You” sing,

When the sun is rising,

may He keep you in his love

When the night is falling,

may He keep you in his love

What would it look like to stake your confidence in the protective presence of the Lord? To believe the truth that this song proclaims:

God before you

God behind you

God around you everywhere

Your protection

Your provision

Every moment he is near

Always near

You can rest secure in the love of God that holds both you and your child.

Pray for your heart: Take a moment to pray to God and ask him to give you confidence in his loving presence with you.

Pray for your child: Take a moment to pray that God’s loving presence would be with your child to guide, guard and protect them all the days of their life.

Rest: Finally, spend a few quiet moments at rest with God, meditating on his truth:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 8:38-39