Learning Trust in the Chaos

A Gift for Mom! 🤍

My husband and I have four children. We started off with 3 boys, each two years apart, and then took several years to regain a sliver of our sanity before completing our family with a darling little girl.

To say that she is loved is an understatement.

However, in keeping with true older brother tradition, she is also teased. A lot. I’m always at the ready to put a stop to it, but the other day I was a quiet spectator. And I learned a lot.

Decked in their Tae Kwon Do “gi’s,” the two oldest boys karate-chopped their way to the van with little Miss trailing right behind. She is proud of her recently discovered ability to buckle herself into her seat. Our newest habit involves me s l o w l y backing out of the driveway while she chirps cheerfully, “Slow, Mama! Go slow until I’m allll buckled!”

Today the boys were feeling particularly wild, so as we begin our slow reversal, one of them shouts, “No! Go FAST!” The other brother joins in and as I back out of the driveway the two of them fill the van with screeching, revving engine sounds as only boys can do. This continues for several blocks until they are a frenzy of noises and gestures; pure boyish delight. This whole time, little sister is in the back pleading shrilly, “NO! Not fast! Policemans say to NOT go faster!” Her panic only spurs the brothers on, naturally, until the whole van is at fever-pitch.

Until now I’ve been silent. I look down at my speedometer: 25 miles an hour. A smile spreads across my heart as God drops a little birds-eye view into my soul:

She doesn’t know the truth. She can’t tell that we’re traveling at a safe speed because she’s only listening to the frenzy. She’s letting her brothers’ intentional over-dramatization affect her reality: she is being safely carried to their destination by a wise driver who is wholly unaffected by the noise.

As I quieted the boys for her sake, she relaxed and I looked down at the speedometer again: 25 miles an hour. Same speed; different atmosphere.

In the chaos of the shouting voices that strike fear and anxiety in our hearts, may we remember Who is carrying us; His wisdom and power are absolutely untouched by all the screaming confusion. He is able to center us in the truth of Himself and to deliver us to our destination safely. May we continue to look to God as He has shown Himself to us in Jesus and find unearthly comfort and strength.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

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Perspective Trust

Sara Frank

My name is Sara Frank. I am a stay-at-home mom of four in a small town in Nebraska. I love good coffee and look forward to that quiet glass of wine with my husband after all the kids go to bed. Find me on Facebook at Frankly, Sara.

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