Stuff I Should Have Learned In Middle School

Remember that popular book titled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? I was reminded of that book yesterday.

It began with my little worrier who is now in Middle School. She wanted a ride to school early so that she could hurry and procure some study materials that she needed for an exam that would happen later that day.

Yeah. That ain't happening.

First of all, she's got straight A's. For seconders, she's in seventh grade. There's no class in seventh grade that puts us in a make-or-break situation, let alone a single test. (And the circumstances that led to this urgency were not due to her negligence, either, BTW...)

That having been said, it's admirable to want to do your best, and her attention to such things will yield dividends for decades. I wish one of the other siblings would acquire a bit more of this passion for excellence in schoolwork! But we digress.

One of my main jobs as this child's parent is not to push her to study harder but rather to encourage her to not worry. She worries. Way too much.

I've said to her the very things I am writing here.

"No, honey, I'm not going to take you to school early in the car. The bus will be fine, and I won't give you any grief at all if the exam goes poorly. Don't worry about it. The only thing I'm concerned about right now is that you do your best and develop good study habits."

A lot of good that does. She frets. Worries. And stews.

It does concern me a bit, that she's such a perfectionist. But by the same token, I admit I do find it a bit amusing. "The stuff she thinks is so important!" I'll think to myself. Then I'll shake my head, knowing that in three years she'll never remember any of these things that had her brain in fight-or-flight mode today.

And then it all came back to me after I went to bed.

Several minutes after I went to bed.

Like, thirty minutes after I went to bed. Or maybe it was forty.

Normally I fall asleep a lot faster. But lately I've had a thumb injury that has plagued my thoughts at night. The surgery to fix it is expensive. Recovery is expected to be limited.

Oh. And my oldest is heading off to college. An expensive one.

And work? For the first time in a long time, it has been a bit dicey.

So, No. I've not been sleeping very well, of late.

You can see it coming, can't you? Yeah. All of a sudden, lying there in bed last night, I had to smile. Here I am, stewing in my worries.

And you just know what God's thinking...

“Child, you are as silly as your daughter. Do you think I will give you grief over things beyond your control that don't go perfectly? Do you?"

"And did I hear you telling her that you're only interested in her doing her best? Developing good study habits? My son! What do you think I'm hoping to see you gain out of what you are experiencing right now??"

Yeah. I think, now that you mention it, God has been clear on that topic:

Matthew 6:25-34 excerpted
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“You of little faith... Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Yes, Lord, I hear your voice again. Thank you. I remember my job now.

Help me to sleep well tonight, will you please?