November 21, 2018 was a life-changing day for me. The day my daughter was born. Despite my effort to not sound extremely cheesy, my world as I knew it changed forever. The way I slept at night, the way I spent my money, the way I viewed my husband, the way I did pretty much everything changed in some way or another (and for the better!). One of the biggest things that shifted inside my heart when I became a mother was the way I viewed God’s love and care for me. As I’ve worked with students, I’ve learned that they are not shielded from the pain and hurt of this broken world. Yet while many of our girls may never be brave enough to whisper the question out loud, I can guarantee at some point they will ask themselves, “Does God really care about me?”Our girls want to believe it, but I think Satan works overtime in the minds of our middle and high school girls trying to convince them otherwise. And while a lesson on motherhood is not going to be the thing that does the trick (I know all of you moms with adult children are laughing), there are so many truths and Scripture that I wish someone would’ve fully explained to me as I navigated all the awkward, anxious teen years.Here are five reasons we can know God really does care about us and our girls:
1. You are made in His image.
“We made this.” Like any new parents holding their child for the first time, our confidence was very clear in the fact that we had just made the most precious little angel baby EVER. If we want to begin anywhere with how God cares for us, let’s talk about the fact that He created us. And while God could have made us in any kind of image, He chose to form us in His own image. The way God creates us reveals His heart and care for us. “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.” (Gen. 1:27)“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Ps. 139:13)“Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7)
2. He loved you enough to send Jesus.
I’m not a very emotional person, but I have cried many nights since my daughter was born over the love I have for her. I could never imagine losing her. God didn’t “lose” Jesus, He sent Him—His one and only Son—to die in our place and to pay the punishment we could’ve never paid on our own. That’s how much He loves us. Our sin problem will always be the biggest problem we face on this earth, and God has already taken care of it in full. Therefore, if we can trust His care for our eternal well-being, we can surely trust that He cares about all other aspects of our life. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
3. You are called His child.
When we are adopted into the family of God after salvation, we don’t become distant relatives to God (or fifth cousins, twice-removed). We become His children—His daughters. While earthly parents will often come up short in this broken world, there is a Heavenly Father that chose our girls to be His, giving them full access to Him and all the rights that comes with being His children. “…you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ…” (Rom. 8:15-17a)
4. He provides all that you need.
At 15 months old, my daughter is very independent and just starting to understand the concept of boundaries and the word “no.” We recently had to put a baby gate up in the kitchen to block her from playing with the dog bowls. The first time she ever saw the gate she had a full-on meltdown. She had no idea at that moment that the gate was a form of protection from eating what she doesn’t need (dog food), because I had a high chair tray full of yummy snacks waiting for her. Yes, God gives boundaries that we sometimes don’t understand. But our God doesn’t withhold from giving us what we need. In fact, He gives us everything we need and gives to us willingly. “Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” (Matt. 7:9-11)“Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” (Matt. 6:26)
5. There is nothing you could ever do to stop Him from loving and caring about you.
My daughter will fail me countless times over her lifetime (and I will fail her), but I can’t imagine a day where my love for her would ever stop. And while I am a sinful human that will fail in perfectly loving and caring for her no matter what, we have the guarantee that there’s nothing in this world that could separate us from the love of God.
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38)
So, does God really care about me? I know my answer. My prayer is that these five truths would not just become an answer that you hand to your girls, but an anthem that you daily declare over their lives (and your own) so that they may walk confidently in His promises and believe in the love and care of their heavenly father.
