Peace-Only a Prayer Away

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The following story, by Karin Lindstrom, is excerpted from A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers, Daily Inspiration for Christian Moms.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 4:6–7

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The day was off to a bad start. I awoke to see everything covered in snow and the white flurries continued to fall at a rapid clip. Later that morning, my husband’s car stalled while he was out driving, and despite our repeated efforts, we couldn’t coax it to start back up. We managed to push it into a nearby parking lot and call a tow truck. Our mechanic told us to tow it to his shop, but he was sorry, it would be ten days before he could take a look at it and fix it.

Then later that day, while I wasn’t looking, my son put on a little jumping routine on the sofa, which ended with a loud thud and a nice cut to the head. As I held a washcloth over my son’s bleeding head, called my husband on the phone, and searched for my car keys so I could take him to the emergency room, the tension increased. I felt my anxiety level rising dangerously close to the O.O.C. (out of control) line.

As I hung up the phone, and dug further in my purse for my keys, I was startled by my son’s soft voice.

“Mommy, can we say a prayer right now?” he asked gently.

I was stopped in my tracks. “Uh, of c-course . . . of course we can,” I stuttered.

With everything going on, I hadn’t even stopped to do what I should have done first—turned the situation over to the Lord.

Was I ever humbled! I prayed aloud, asking God to help my son’s cut stop bleeding and to relieve his head pain. Then I added a silent prayer for God to ease my anxiety and give me peace.

I’d been a twisted ball of nerves when my son asked that simple request: to stop and pray. Leave it to the innocence of my child to help put everything in perspective, to remind me of my core values and priorities.

Immediately, a feeling of calm came across me after that prayer. I knew everyone would be taken care of. We were in God’s capable hands.

I felt as if God gave me an extra helping of patience to get through the next few hours of stress in the emergency room. Instead of being frazzled and overwhelmed, I felt completely at ease. The cut was nothing major and easily taken care of with a few staples. My son handled it bravely, with hardly a tear. To this day I am amazed at how that simple moment of prayer had provided us with a monumental amount of peace.

That stressful situation pointed out that even though I may pray eventually, it’s not my typical first reaction to frustrations. Instead, I struggle with the stress in my own way, trying my best to manage the pressure instead of going straight to God in prayer. If I would just deposit my worries with God in prayer, I would have an immediate measure of divine peace.

As I walk into a New Year, it’s good to know that when the obstacles are mounting.