Article November 11, 2019 Issue

‘Worrier-in-chief’ of the family?

Susan Tish

Several years ago, in the space of two years my mother and a beloved aunt passed away, and a close family member left us after a divorce. For a time, it felt as though our family were falling apart, and the realization came that I was suddenly the new matriarch. Everyone felt a little adrift, and it was difficult to see how we would all regain that loving, happy, and safe space family time had always provided. As I took this all onto my shoulders, I felt like the new “worrier-in-chief” for the whole group.

And yet, I’d learned this much: When worries and sorrows get too big for us to bear, God is the one, steady support that is always there to comfort and guide us. Prayer is the always-available avenue through which we find God’s light, even in the midst of a storm of trouble.

As I tried to pray, I remember finding it difficult to know where to begin, when these circumstances seemed to be so out of my control. Yearning for each family member to feel the peace and presence of God’s love, I sat quietly in my home office and turned wholeheartedly to God.

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