Yes, I know it’s about time we righted the reframing ship. It gets tiring carrying the burden of worry and trying to mask it with secular positivity. Aren’t you tired? Let’s put worry in its place by reframing properly. Over the final three weeks of this series, we’re going to reframe who you are: child of God, mission recipient, and an ambassador. Today, we begin with who you are as a child of God.
If you’re a parent, you know that you’d never want your child to worry about whether or not you were looking out for their best interests or cared about their protection. As an example, let me share a bit about my youngest daughter. She’s a planner, an initiator, an implementer (she gets those from her mom) . . . and she likes control and is prone to worry about plan execution (yes, those are my fault as well). When planning trips or surprises, I grew weary of her questions about the plan, what was happening and when, whether we were late, how long the event would last, and the like. So, we came up with a nonverbal signal, two gentle squeezes of her hand, to essentially say, “Trust me.”
When I squeezed her hand with a loving, understanding look in my eyes, I could see an immediate shift in her posture and demeanor. Her shoulders dropped, she smiled more, and she often sighed – all signals that showed she was relieved to not have to think or focus so hard. She could rest. She could relax. She could enjoy whatever came next. And I appreciated the trust and loved the extra joy I felt in caring for my child in those moments.
And God says the same thing to you: “Dear child, you are set apart as mine. See how much I love you. See how much I delight in every detail of your existence that I created. And see how I hold you through it all!”
Sigh. Drop the shoulders. Smile because you are held. Your worries and your burdens are not something you carry alone. How often do we need that reminder! And God knows we need it. “Do not be afraid” is the most often used phrase in the Bible! Reassurance is yours through proper reframing, and we’ll build on this new frame of who you are next week.
Comments