Day 20: Be Anxious for Nothing
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7
We welcomed Tatum Joy into the world in July of 2024. As is the case for most new parents, a million questions, fears and anxieties co-existed in our minds with an immeasurable amount of joy and excitement. Over and over, we tried to remind ourselves: no matter what, God will carry us through.
Fast forward 6 months, we noticed she had a few patches of dry skin that resulted in minor scratching at the source. Sparse patches quickly spread to an all over presence on her body. As the presence of patches heavily increased, so did the severity of her scratching. She was tearing her skin apart and her risk of infection was continually getting worse. We quickly realized our sweet girl had a serious eczema diagnosis, and we had exhausted every home remedy, topical treatment, and recommended tactic imaginable. Nothing was helping. Our hope of “No matter what, God will carry us through” quickly shifted into a self-reliance of “just make it through,” as everyday activities became a fight to keep her from creating new wounds and reopening healing ones. We spent months anxiously praying for God to show up.
Appointment after appointment led us to a specialist in Illinois, where we felt the Lord had finally given us a path towards healing. It turns out, the root cause ran deep, and what we saw on the surface was simply a by-product of an internal problem. Just as we prayed for, we witnessed God show up at our very first appointment in extremely tangible ways. We had hope once again! We implemented the new plan of treatment and began to see slight improvement, and then… we forgot about Him. Our fierce dependence and daily prayers for healing just disappeared.
It wasn’t until she experienced regressions throughout the treatment process that we realized where we had placed our peace. We demanded healing on our terms more than the peace that God promises to provide amidst it. Throughout this entire battle, we desired for our hurt to be understood by others more than we desired God. We wanted a friend to understand this isn’t “just some scratching”, or a doctor to finally tell us they had all the answers.
Meanwhile, our God in Heaven completely understood us. He waited so patiently for us to surrender Tatum’s life back to Him. We are so thankful for a God that draws us back to Himself. He loves Tatum more than we ever could and welcomes us to exchange our anxiety for His perfect peace through prayer. Similar to this eczema journey, we’ve learned that God desires for us to open our hearts to Him to go beyond the surface and transform us from the inside out.
Prayer
God, as our hearts seek answers to the questions we face daily, I ask that you would draw us to your truth. In moments of uncertainty, trials, or suffering, replace our anxiousness with thanksgiving and deeper intimacy with you. In moments of plenty and moments of calm when we are tempted to forget you, fill our hearts with rejoicing in your name over and over again. In all circumstances, may we humbly approach you with a heart ready to be transformed. Your will be done, Father. Amen.
Tim and Kristen Swanson celebrated both their five-year anniversary and five years at Pathway in September. They have two children, Tatum, (2) and Harvey (7 months). Tim currently works in clinical research in the medical device industry and Kristen stays home. They are excited for fall because they love Michigan football (GO BLUE!), comfort food, and the anticipation of the holiday seasons.
Follow along with 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting by listening to the daily audio devotionals on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7
We welcomed Tatum Joy into the world in July of 2024. As is the case for most new parents, a million questions, fears and anxieties co-existed in our minds with an immeasurable amount of joy and excitement. Over and over, we tried to remind ourselves: no matter what, God will carry us through.
Fast forward 6 months, we noticed she had a few patches of dry skin that resulted in minor scratching at the source. Sparse patches quickly spread to an all over presence on her body. As the presence of patches heavily increased, so did the severity of her scratching. She was tearing her skin apart and her risk of infection was continually getting worse. We quickly realized our sweet girl had a serious eczema diagnosis, and we had exhausted every home remedy, topical treatment, and recommended tactic imaginable. Nothing was helping. Our hope of “No matter what, God will carry us through” quickly shifted into a self-reliance of “just make it through,” as everyday activities became a fight to keep her from creating new wounds and reopening healing ones. We spent months anxiously praying for God to show up.
Appointment after appointment led us to a specialist in Illinois, where we felt the Lord had finally given us a path towards healing. It turns out, the root cause ran deep, and what we saw on the surface was simply a by-product of an internal problem. Just as we prayed for, we witnessed God show up at our very first appointment in extremely tangible ways. We had hope once again! We implemented the new plan of treatment and began to see slight improvement, and then… we forgot about Him. Our fierce dependence and daily prayers for healing just disappeared.
It wasn’t until she experienced regressions throughout the treatment process that we realized where we had placed our peace. We demanded healing on our terms more than the peace that God promises to provide amidst it. Throughout this entire battle, we desired for our hurt to be understood by others more than we desired God. We wanted a friend to understand this isn’t “just some scratching”, or a doctor to finally tell us they had all the answers.
Meanwhile, our God in Heaven completely understood us. He waited so patiently for us to surrender Tatum’s life back to Him. We are so thankful for a God that draws us back to Himself. He loves Tatum more than we ever could and welcomes us to exchange our anxiety for His perfect peace through prayer. Similar to this eczema journey, we’ve learned that God desires for us to open our hearts to Him to go beyond the surface and transform us from the inside out.
Prayer
God, as our hearts seek answers to the questions we face daily, I ask that you would draw us to your truth. In moments of uncertainty, trials, or suffering, replace our anxiousness with thanksgiving and deeper intimacy with you. In moments of plenty and moments of calm when we are tempted to forget you, fill our hearts with rejoicing in your name over and over again. In all circumstances, may we humbly approach you with a heart ready to be transformed. Your will be done, Father. Amen.
Tim and Kristen Swanson celebrated both their five-year anniversary and five years at Pathway in September. They have two children, Tatum, (2) and Harvey (7 months). Tim currently works in clinical research in the medical device industry and Kristen stays home. They are excited for fall because they love Michigan football (GO BLUE!), comfort food, and the anticipation of the holiday seasons.
Follow along with 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting by listening to the daily audio devotionals on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.
Posted in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting 2026