Yesterday was a day of learning. I love those days when what I am learning from God goes deep.

Concern for one of our adult kids and grandkids started building and turning into worry that left me feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Does worry for your kids do that to you? They are capable adults and yet I let worry overtake me. Last evening in our Mid Week Encounter, we did an exercise of Visio Divina…using visual elements in a photo or painting to help set our minds on prayer and letting God speak to us from what we glean in looking at the image.

The image was of a barren tree with two main branches forming a V shape. One branch had ever smaller branches ending in sharp, spiky twigs. The image was of Monument Valley at sunset and beyond the barren tree were rising cliffs of rock bathed in pink light; above that the clear sky before stars were visible.

The image spoke to each of us and we shared our own impressions and lessons gleaned. Then quietly we prayed as a group but to God, not to each other, thanking Him for what He was teaching us. Initially I shared that the sharp, spiky twigs reminded me of the worry I felt that day. In prayer to Him, I thanked Him for showing me that the sharp, spiky twigs were the worry growing and choking out anything but the worry. Worry is not freedom. Worry confines, imprisons, reduces your ability to see anything but the worry. The image was a visual representation of what was going on inside me…barren, dead worry.

As I shared with the group, I recognized what I was doing yesterday…how could I not? I was being choked with the effect of worry. I asked God to help me and He did. He brought be down from height of worry and reminded me He is in charge. I gave my worry for them to God and asked Him to not let me take it back again! It sounds so simple as I type it but it took time.

The only way I could experience the freeing of putting my worry away and giving it to God was to be actively walking with Him. This morning I read from Jesus Calling: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8. When we give our worry that chokes to God and He takes it how can we not be humbled? I can’t make the worry go away…it grows all sharp and spiky and chokes me. I don’t just give it to Him and that’s the end of it. He takes it. Why does He ask us to walk humbly with Him?

I thought about that this morning as I thought about all of this. What can I not do? I can’t make dust out of nothing. I can’t create the stars. I can’t love people that are unlovable. I can’t swoop in and rescue my adult children. I can’t swoop in and take over God’s job. Can you?

I marvel at the freedom I find in God. He loves me for me and my kids for themselves. He loves you. He doesn’t dictate to any of us how we should think or be. He allows us the freedom to fail, to worry, to learn. And the wonderful astounding freedom of coming to Him. I delight in learning from Him at the pace He knows I need to learn and grow in wisdom and truth and freedom because His love is freeing. God is not a helicopter parent. He allows us time to learn and experience His love individually. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 1 John 2:7-8. I am so grateful to God that I can turn over my worries to Him. I turn them over in faith because I know that just as surely as He is with me, He is with them and loves them so much more than I could ever be capable of. His light is already shining. His love is there and I know peace.