Raising Kids in a World That Feels Out of Control

When I was stepping into adulthood and looking for my first job, I often felt like I had to overcome not just my age, but the stigma of being a millennial. Even though I fall on the older end of that group, it felt a little like wearing a scarlet letter.

Now, as a millennial parent, that label feels more like a badge of honor.

We haven’t even hit 40 yet, and we’ve lived through a lot. We’ve experienced a constant stream of major world events, all while trying to bring tiny humans into a world that, at times, feels like it’s spinning out of control.

From the time I was in high school, I’ve watched our country endure 9/11, wars in the Middle East, Hurricane Katrina (which we felt deeply here in Texas), the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Hurricane Harvey, a global pandemic… and now ongoing conflict in the Middle East. And that’s just some of it.

That timeline doesn’t even include the massive rise of technology—from the first iPhone to AI—completely reshaping how we live, parent, and process information.

Now take all of that and layer in adulthood, marriage, and raising kids in a world where information is literally at our fingertips.

Sometimes I think our parents had the gift of making parenting decisions without being constantly flooded with new studies, opinions, and headlines telling them everything they were doing wrong. Today, it can feel like there’s no winning. One article says one thing, another says the opposite, and somewhere in between you’re just trying to keep your kids fed, safe, and loved.

It takes a lot to shock a millennial. We feel the weight of hard news, but the possibility of bad things happening? That almost feels normal now. I mean—we lived through a global pandemic that shut down the entire world. And like many others, I experienced that while very pregnant.

So where am I going with all of this?

With everything we’ve lived through, I was reminded recently just how easily fear can creep in.

I was driving home from a lunch meeting when I saw a police officer speed off in the opposite direction with lights on. My first thought was, that’s not good. My next thought? At least he’s heading away from my kids’ school… which quickly spiraled into, What if there was a school shooting? How fast could I get there? What route would I take?

That’s my thought process.

As a parent who has lived through so much, worst-case scenarios can feel like the default setting.

But what stopped me in that moment was this—my second thought brought peace.

Not because the world suddenly felt safe, but because I know who is in control.

I’ve been reading through Joshua, and there’s a verse we’ve taught our kids (to the point of their complete annoyance):
“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

God spoke those words to Joshua before leading His people into the Promised Land. Before they crossed the Jordan River. Before He went ahead of them, stopped the water, and made a way—not through mud, but on dry ground.

And that’s what I come back to.

My God goes before me.
He goes before my children.
He sees what I can’t see.
He knows what I don’t know.

Yes, we’ve lived through a lot. Yes, the world can feel heavy and uncertain.

But we don’t have to live in fear.

Because He is already there.