I was a super mean momma last week. I mean, y’all aren’t going to believe what I did.

I made Jax go on his reward field trip. Spending the day bowling instead of having to go to school. Terrible I know.

Obviously, I’m being facetious now.

But in the moment, when I was telling him he had to go, he said and thought things like “”What if I’m miserable?” Don’t you care?”

And of course, I did care. A WHOLE lot. Every part of my mama heart wanted to say “Stay with me sweetie and I’ll make sure you have the easiest, best, most perfect day ever.”

But I couldn’t—because my job as his mom isn’t to make life easy for him. My job is to teach him and guide him and serve as a soft, safe place to land when the storms come.

His “Mom, don’t you care???” got me thinking of another “Don’t you care?” from many years ago. When the huge, scary storm threatened to throw the disciples overboard, they chastised him saying “Lord, don’t you care if we drown?”

Of course He did. These were his disciples. Some of his best friends on earth. But his job wasn’t to make their lives easy and peaceful. It was to develop them into strong, faithful men who could lead the world to Jesus after his death.

Things aren’t so different for His disciples today. Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life. In fact, He promised that if we follow Him, we will have trouble. But He also shows us over and over in the Scriptures that He not only cares, He’s walking alongside us every step of the way.

(Need a refresher? Read one of these verses: Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Psalm 34:17-18, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

And sometimes, we worry and stress for nothing. Like Jackson, who ended up having a great day and getting to be with his friends thanks to a teacher who noticed him struggling and helped him out.

Reminds me of another verse:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28