Worrying about Someone?
This weekend I drove away from my mother and my daughter, and I think there should be a law against that.
I drove to Wyoming by myself, to visit my mom, and we had the most wonderful time. She took me to a little place in Lander called The Middle Fork, where I ate the most delicious asparagus quiche. The crust was flaky perfection. It was served with the best fries I have ever had in my life, and while I think it’s strange to make French fries the side to quiche, I ate every single one.
We have to have the asiago dipping sauce, said mom.
Heaven. Angels singing. Rules about double dipping ignored.
We went shopping, which might make you laugh if you knew what that meant in Lander.
We watched HGTV until 11:00 at night.
What?!
Too soon the days were over, and I packed my bags to leave. Well, except for that huge Rubbermaid I was supposed to bring home. And my favorite boots that I can’t live without.
Sorry for the trip to the post office, mom.
I pulled myself away from her and drove seven hours to Bozeman, where I went to church with my daughter and son-in-law and then treated them to McDonald’s. (That’s what they asked for, the foolish children.)
Next morning I was kissing the sweet cheeks of my little girl and heading for home.
Stink.
It’s hard not to drive away and worry. Hard to leave mom who is alone now and hard to leave a girl who does not –really does not –want to be in school anymore.
But you’re a senior in college! You can do it! I cheered.
Worrying for people you love causes almost a physical pain, don’t ya know?
So I woke up and opened my Bible. (Guys –I’m on December 2 in my One-Year Bible. Home stretch.)
The psalmist gave me a song to sing for my mom and my little girl:
The Lord watches over you-
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:5-8
Oh how I wish I could watch over the people I love.
I wish I could enjoy awesome French fries and go to the grocery store every day with my mom. I wish I could hold Jayme’s hand in class and make it all better. (Maybe I should have offered to stay? hahaha)
But in the places where I cannot go, I know God is there.
He will watch over.
He will watch over.
He will watch over.
We can believe this precious and magnificent promise (repeated three times by the psalmist), not just for ourselves but for other God-fearing loved ones who are out of our reach.
I read this a couple days after the posting. It just sums up my Friday though. James and his friend drove down to Missoula on their own. This was a first for them. Being 18 and getting ready to go away to school, I knew it was time, but I wanted to drive them and take care of them. God is faithful and watched over them. He took care of a nervous mom. Your posts always seem to hit home!!!!
It’s terrifying to let your kid take a road trip! I suppose it’s a good warm-up before he’s riding the New York Subway next fall. 🙂
Thank you for your writing. Right now my “baby girl” is half a world away, literally, and I worry about her so much. She’s going through some difficult times and struggling to know God’s will. Your words helped me so much (I should have thought of them because that’s my favorite Psalm.). Thank you. You always write something to lift me up.
I’m afraid our very mobile society has created a lot of pain for us momma’s. What would we do if we didn’t know God was so big? Thank you very much for lifting me up with your words in turn!
This is beautiful and a perfect reminder for me as I mourn the distance that separates me from those I love.
It’s hard to live so far away!!
Wow Christy, I’m so very touched by this today. such a beautiful and accurate description of all we feel concerning our loved ones. Thank you for sharing your joy, and honest feelings of worrry while still directing us to the Lord and His word for comfort. Thanks so much. Blessings Diane
Your words are sweet to me. Thank you, Diane.
Thank you Christy. For those of us who have children and loved ones out of state, it is a timely reminder.
Thank you. I tell myself that God is watching over my daughter in Missoula every time she leaves Bozeman to go back to school. But I too wish I could still hold her hand and make it all better.
I was wishing I had more time in Bozeman to connect with you, Lee. Hopefully one of these days! It is so hard to let our sweet kids go back to school.