Peace 101

I was praying about this week's discussion topic for KSBJ and what kept coming to mind is something I have been stressing about for a while- Trinity starting Kindergarten. I couldn't shake the thought that I was supposed to talk about that. But why? What was the application here? How could I use this situation to encourage other people? So then I started praying about how this would apply to others and how I could reach out and bless someones life by sharing this and this is what God revealed to me: 1- I am stressing about it. God's word says several times in Matthew to NOT worry and all I have done is worry. But even more than not worrying... 1 Peter 5:7 says "7 Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you." So how does this apply to my Trinity starting Kindergarten. The verse says give all of your worries to Him (some versions say cast all of your cares upon Him) why? Because He cares for you. He wants to shoulder that load, not you. Circumstances are going to come in to our lives- for some of you, it's your baby starting Kindergarten. For others of you, it's a loved one who is sick with no hope for recovery, or the single parent who is struggling to make ends meet, or maybe you're looking for a job and all hope seems lost. My encouragement to you is this- cast ALL of your cares on Him because He cares for you. He doesn't say cast only the really big ones on Him, or the life-threatening cares on Him. He says all of them- even the ones as silly as your baby starting school for the first time or your teenager learning to drive. He cares for you. He wants to walk you through this time. And what I have found is that when you do that- when you cast those cares, those fears, those worries and anxieties on Him, what He gives you back is that peace that passes all understanding- it's a peace no one can explain but that we all need. It's a peace that says to me as she walks out the door that first day "she's going to be okay mom." And I have a feeling in that moment, when she leaves for her first day of school, I will experience that fullness of peace as I trust I am releasing her in to God's hands.