Do You Really Need to Know? - by Carly Mainland

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My girls have been so peaceful, so blissfully unaware. We’ve explained that things are canceled, that some people are sick, that we need to keep our distance so we don’t get them sick and they don’t get us sick. They get it, sort of, but they carry on. They play, laugh, they squabble a bit, but mostly they’ve just been in their imaginations, little beds on the book shelves, taking care of all their babies, coloring- sometimes in places they are not supposed to, making pies and creations out of dirt and snow, eating cookies and chocolate eggs. They hold their baby sister, talk to her, and cheer her on when she rolls over and tell me again and again to come see. There’s an subtle panic happening below the surface for so many of us right now, as we grocery shop and think about the future, but inside this house, you wouldn’t hardly know it. The difference between their little world and the worlds. And I’m wondering, where does my mind dwell right now?

In the peace and care of my Heavenly Father? Aware that there is danger outside, considering how to be careful, but carrying on with the joy and life He intends for me to enjoy? I want to trust the Lord, trust in His plan and his care in such a way, that I can rest with all the unknowns.
Thirteen years ago, I participated in Adventure Bible School in New Zealand, and one of the biggest lessons came through this simple question ‘do you really need to know?’
We woke up in the morning and followed simple instructions, brought along only what was on our gear list, left our watches and devices and agendas behind. Because we really didn’t need to know- where we were headed, when we’d be back, what time it was- or where we were on a map. It was a huge exercise in trust and letting go.

And it’s so true, and I ask myself now- do I really need to know? What our life will look like a week or month from now? How long this will all last? What I need to know for today, can that be enough? I need to exercise my trust and my letting go, again today, and probably again later today and then tomorrow. Because we have a good good father, and I don’t really need to know.


Author:  Carly Mainland


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