I was, and continue to be, astonished at the depth of my love for my children. Yet this intense connection also fosters fear. I know the unbearable pain of even imagining my child suffering. The only solution for me is to work on my spiritual life. Without my faith, I don't thing I could cope with my fears.
Faith takes patience.
I have painfully found that unusually high anxiety about my children is sometimes caused by unresolved issues in my own life. I am anxious when my child climbs too high or attempts a new activity because my parents wouldn't let me climb high or because other children ridiculed me when I attempted something new as a child. The anxiety I feel has more to do with me and my own problems than with the particular situations my children face. Their situations may very well remind me of my own experiences and make me face them anew. I have found that I am bound to repeat my parents' mistakes if I don't directly address my own problems and past experiences.