I sat in a conference last week, and the keynote speaker, author Khristi Lauren Adams, told us she wanted to open with a quick meditation. She asked us to close our eyes and, for 30 seconds, to ponder a question:

What if it was all going to be ok?

What if those things that terrified us, that weighed heavy on us, that kept us up at night – those projects and people and places that we worried after – what if all of it was going to be just fine? 

The lift in the room was palpable. The sense of exhale at just the thought, that maybe, things were going to be ok. I thought of my kids: I have 4 month old twins I had left for the first time to be at the conference and I thought of all the anxieties that had tripped off, I considered that, just maybe, it was all going to be fine, and felt tears well up in my eyes. 

Anyone who works with young people knows that you spend an inordinate amount of time telling young people that things are going to be fine. Whether that’s soothing a baby, or comforting a child afraid of monsters in their closet, or holding a teenager who didn’t get into their dream school. We as adults have the perspective of knowing generally how the story ends, and having the easy confidence that it really will be ok. We know that things have a way of working themselves out, even if it wasn’t how we imagined. We know that God is present and will be present, whether a kid makes the team or not, or gets the grades or not, and that no matter what happens, they’ll make it through. 

Why do we have so much trouble believing that for ourselves then? Why is it that we can look at a teenager and tell them that even if none of their grand plans work out, they’ll be fine, but we are gripped with anxiety at the thought that something might go awry with our own? 

In the world of innovation, we frequently are asked to step into unknown territory. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the fear of failure, the worry that we’ll invest our heart, resources, time, and energy in something that will turn out differently than we imagined. 

What would it feel like to embrace the message we give to children that it will be ok? Can we accept the love of God like the embrace of a loving parent, telling us that they know how the story ends and it really will be ok? What would that give us the freedom to try? 

I encourage you to take 30 seconds, right now, and meditate on this question, 

What if it was all going to be ok? 

Carry that feeling along with you this week, and let it comfort and encourage you in everything you do.