Do Not Fear
(Our Theme for June)
Matthew 6:25-26
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
The maternal side of my family consists of worriers. My father said he used to worry until he married my mother, then he figured she did enough worrying for both of them.
When I was eight years old, my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with lymphoma. To obtain that diagnosis, he and my grandmother, and eventually my mother, traveled to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand what was going on, but I knew all the adults were concerned. My brother, then four, and I prepared a card for my mother to deliver to our grandfather. Now, we had some typical childish drawings on the card, but I had also written these verses: Matthew 6:25-26.
My grandfather lived for 16 more years … until I was 24. He had planned his funeral, and that plan included instructions to place that card in his suit pocket after making a copy for my brother and me.
He also requested that the minister read the verses from that card at the service. After sharing those verses, the minister looked over at the family and said he was sure my grandfather wanted to share those words with us as we mourned his passing.
And these verses keep coming back to me. My grandfather was a prolific letter writer. My father recently found some letters he had written during the time surrounding his diagnosis. In a letter to his sisters, he mentioned the verses I had written in the card. He commented that men were supposed to be stoic, but his glasses certainly fogged up as he read it.
I do sometimes worry. Sometimes worry seems to be part of parenthood as we hope for our children’s happiness and wellbeing. However, when I worry, I reflect upon these words from Matthew, look at the birds of the air, and remember how much my heavenly Father cares for all of us.
Our prayer today:
Heavenly Father, when we worry, help us to remember how you care for the birds of the air. Let us turn our worries over to you with the steadfast assurance that you care for us. Amen.
This devotional was written by Kathryn King and read by Donn King.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. We're glad that you have joined us for these few moments where we can share the love of Jesus Christ. This devotional was written by Catherine King and read by Don King. Matthew 6, verses 25 through 26, says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [MUSIC PLAYING] The maternal side of my family consists of warriors. My father said he used to worry until he married my mother. Then he figured she did enough worrying for both of them. When I was eight years old, my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with lymphoma. To obtain that diagnosis, he and my grandmother and eventually my mother traveled to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. At the time, I didn't fully understand what was going on, but I knew all the adults were concerned. My brother, then four, and I prepared a card for my mother to deliver to our grandfather. We had some typical childish drawings on the card, but I had also written these verses. Matthew 6, verses 25 through 26. My grandfather lived for 16 more years until I was 24. He had planned his funeral, and that plan included instructions to place that card in his suit pocket after making a copy from my brother and me. He also requested that the minister read the verses from that card at the service. After sharing those verses, the minister looked over at the family and said he was sure my grandfather wanted to share those words with us as we mourned his passing. And these verses keep coming back to me. My grandfather was a prolific letter writer. My father recently found some letters he had written during the time surrounding his diagnosis. In a letter to his sisters, he mentioned the verses I had written in the card. He commented that men were supposed to be stoic, but his glasses certainly fogged up as he read it. I do sometimes worry. Sometimes worry seems to be part of parenthood as we hope for our children's happiness and well-being. However, when I worry, I reflect upon these words from Matthew. Look at the birds of the air, and remember how much my Heavenly Father cares for all of us. Heavenly Father, when we worry, help us to remember how you care for the birds of the air. Let us turn our worries over to you with the steadfast assurance that you care for us. Amen. You've been listening to The Grace for All podcast, a ministry of First United Methodist Church in the beautiful foothills of the great Smoky Mountains in Maryville, Tennessee. I'm Jonathan Jonas, the senior pastor, and I'm grateful that you've shared this time of devotion and prayer with us today. We hope you'll join us for the next episode, and we also welcome you to join us for worship this weekend, whether here in Maryville or by livestream, wherever you are. Grace for All is written, edited, and produced by the lay members of First United Methodist Church. To learn more about our congregation and its other ministries, please visit our website at firstchurch.org. That's the number one, S-T-C-H-U-R-C-H.org. [MUSIC PLAYING] (gentle music)
