It's Not Time To Worry Yet

Have you ever read To Kill A Mockingbird? Scout will make you laugh, Atticus will make you think, and Tom Robinson will make you cry.

And they should.

Let me tell you, I love me some Atticus Finch. In the book, he tells his children "It's not time to worry yet" as they face the toughest time of their little lives. That is one of my favorite quotes ever. I used to find myself telling myself this all the time. When I was going through something, I remembered this quote. When I found myself worried I remembered this quote. But there's something bigger at work here.

I am a child of God, and for a child of God there's never a time to worry. Easier said than done, though. I was worried ALL the time when the boys were in the NICU. I lived in worry every.single.day. Worry was my constant companion. My go-to-quote didn't even work for me. "It's not time to worry yet;" I would tell myself, "remember Atticus." Yeah, it didn't work.
But you're a Christian; but you're a preacher's wife, for goodness sakes!

Yep, I am and I am. Still didn't work for me.

Here I am fifteen months after the early birth of my children and I can honestly say the worry has stopped. Actually I stopped worrying months and months ago. Love him though I might, it wasn't because of Atticus and his wise words. My faith has grown. I learned to trust God; to take Him at his word; to rely on Him. My husband would tell me all the time when the Peas were in the hospital that this was not about the twins. The experience was for us. And you know what? He was right. We went through that for a reason and there was something that we were supposed to learn. Nothing that we go through is really about us; there's something much much bigger at work.

When Evan had his procedure last week I noticed that something was missing. As I walked down the hall of the hospital after leaving my baby with the doctor, I realized that there was not an ounce of worry. I forgot all about my favorite quote. Daddy P and I even talked about it. He asked me if I cried when I left Evan. Nope. I didn't. But I remember a day....let me tell you! I told him, either I'm going to believe God or I'm not.

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this; I just really felt like I needed to today. Maybe somebody who's reading this needs to know that it's not time to worry. Maybe I need to see these words. I've actually been thinking about this for awhile now.

You should still read To Kill a Mockingbird, though. Harper Lee is a literary genius. The last few pages of the last chapter? Gives me chills every time I think about it! Atticus Finch? Wisest character. EVER. Law students actually study this fictional guy who was based on Lee's father. I think parents should study him too.

So, it's not time to worry yet. But not because Atticus says so.