Preparing to launch our kids into the world is no easy feat. There is a host of planning that we take on to prepare them for how to handle challenging situations they may encounter. But even the best laid plan is sometimes not enough. I was reminded of this truth when I received a phone call in the middle of the night. My eldest daughter had come down with a fever and would need to be picked up from camp as soon as I could manage it in the morning.
After hanging up the phone, I struggled to return to rest. Our summer camp plan had been foiled. I found myself three hours away and completely reliant upon others to care for my child until I could get to her. As any mother will tell you, these were some of the hardest few hours to have to endure, as I had to trust that these people, whom we had just met, would indeed care for her well until I arrived.
While retrieving our sick daughter from camp, I was blessed to find that my fretting and overthinking was really just that. Not only was she okay, but she had been cared for so well by the nurse and staff, that she didn’t even cry because of having to leave camp early. Staying the night in the camp infirmary has easily become one of her favorite camp activities, as the attention she received was like no other. They loved on her just as much as I would have and ensured she was cared for so well that she was mostly over her fever by the time I arrived.
Since this unexpected detour, I have begun to see how God is shaping me through motherhood to better accept that which I cannot control. In times of uncertainty, I must trust him to take care of my children, especially as they launch into the world on their own. This small scare has reminded me that although our plans are interrupted, God’s plan is perfect, as it is he who guides us through every twist and turn of life. It is he who provided the people that my daughter needed most when she fell ill at camp, and it is for that reason I will continue to trust him that all will be well.
Like many moms, I worry about my children more than they will ever know, but I trust God more. And with that, I will continue to navigate the joys and unexpected detours of motherhood with an open heart, living each day with faith, hope, and trust that God will take care of it all—even when it is hard or when miles away from those you love most. My prayer is that you, too, will find that same loving trust in him to lean on as you journey along the pathways of motherhood.