This is Jenny Allen and you are listening to the Made for This podcast. So if you have your Bibles we're going to be in First Thessalonians for today.

And before I read that, I want to set up kind of where I've been recently because I bet a lot of you can relate.

So we're homeschooling. I'm working around the clock still.

In fact, my kids said the other day they were like, mom, why are you and dad working so much?

And we were like, but we're not working any more than normal. You just never see us work. You're usually at school. So it's hard. We're juggling a lot with

relationships and four kids home and some of you are in the exact same boat even if you're single you're likely

juggling work and connecting with friends via Zoom and all the different things it just

feels like a unique moment where life feels a little bit chaotic and in some ways

there have been days that this has really been delightful that I've had a ball and I'm so glad to have my kids home

but I would say recently you know we're approaching three weeks now and we're all just kind of done

we're all just kind of done. We're all just kind of finished.

And so specifically a couple days ago,

I had such an anxiety day.

Like I couldn't, my heart wouldn't calm down.

I was just, I just wanted it to be over. All I wanted to do was like grab my kids and go see a movie or go to the mall, like just be in public somewhere. And of course that's not a reality. And I noticed after that day like just this general shift and decline into

cynicism and into just being I don't know just bugged and apparently the same timing for all my kids and my husband we all just were on edge with each other and I remember I honestly this was yesterday morning I sat down with Cooper my my youngest, he's 11.

And he had had just the worst days of us all the day before and had broken down and gotten angry

several times.

And I sat down with him and in preaching to him I realized this was really for me and I said buddy

let's talk about where you are and what you've been going through and he's a mom I'm just

so mad I'm so mad I can't go to school I'm so angry that I can't be with my

friends and I just I'm just mad and I said okay what's that look like to trust Jesus in this and he was like I don't know I've been talking to him and he is not talking back and he is not saying anything and I'm just getting more mad and and how do you know if God hears you and how do you know if he cares and I said you know what you open this book and this book is his word and his voice to you and so we're going to do that right now and honestly since that conversation

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