A word on mothering from Jill Savage..

I had this emailed to me by a fellow homeschooler today. Even though it deals with motheringa public school high school student, the mother fears are the same.

From My Heart to Yours
Once a month, I serve as a volunteer greeter at my daughter's high school. I have a pretty easy job sitting at the entrance of the school asking visitors to sign in when they enter. I will admit, however, that my imagination has run wild on occasion as I've considered the school shootings over the past few years.

With the horrific Virginia Tech killings fresh on my mind, I recently entered the school on my regular volunteer day. As I positioned myself at the entryway, I noticed several police officers roaming the halls. While I've greeted an occasional police officer coming in to deal with a truant student, I'd certainly never seen them roaming the halls.

Within minutes, the bell rang and students poured into the halls to change classes and immediately more administration personnel than I could count suddenly appeared on the scene. The assistant principal approached me explaining that a plainclothes security officer would be handling my responsibilities for the morning.

That's when I found out that a student at the school had posted internet threats against specific students. Suddenly, Columbine and Virginia Tech weren't so far away. The frightening possibility was right in front of me in my own child's school.

Anytime something happens to someone's child, we're affected as moms. I remember after Anne, our first child, was born there seemed to be an increase in crimes against children. Night after night, I would listen to the evening news and grow in fear. In reality, there wasn't an increase in crime involving children. I was just seeing the world through new eyes--the eyes of a mother.

Standing in the school hallway after being dismissed from my volunteer work, fear gripped my thoughts. Should I pull Erica out of school? Should I keep her home for a few days? And then they went even further. Maybe we should return to home schooling where she would be safe from this insecure, unsafe world! Within minutes God spoke quietly to my heart by interrupting my racing thoughts with some Bible verses I knew well, "Be still and know that I am God, Jill" (Psalm 46:10). Then "Do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Someone once said that when we know Scripture, we increase the Holy Spirit's vocabulary in our lives. I saw that concept at work right then (I didn't know the exact book of the Bible and verses at that moment, but I knew God's truth when I needed it!)

What do we do when fear wants to take over? How do we combat the emotions that can take over our head and our heart in a matter of minutes when our child's safety is at stake?

That's when I also knew what a mother must do when faced with fears, especially fears about things she can't control. She has to stand on faith. I can't imagine mothering without partnering with a God who loves my child even more than I do. I can't be with them all the time, but God can. I'm not omnipresent (being everywhere at once) or omniscient (all-knowing), but God is.

When I'm fearful, His truth calms my emotional heart. When I want to control every part of my children's environment, He reminds me that He's got it covered. Having a spiritual perspective helps me come to terms with both the good and the bad in this world, which affects every aspect of my child's life every day, not just on days when an evil threat is right before my eyes.

What's a mom to do? We're to run straight into the arms of God who's waiting for us to trust Him with our life and the lives of those we love.

Joining you in the journey,
Jill Savage
Wife to Mark and Mother to Anne, Evan, Erica, Kolya, and Austin
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hearts at Home