The Incredible Mother

 

Happy Mother’s Day! What an incredible creation a mother is!

She is the heart and hub of the home. Without her, the wheels would fall off, and all schedules would come unglued. She is the cheerleader, the busy bee, packer of lunches, and so much more! Some moms do all of this even as other factors work against them, like an absent father, or no grandparents nearby, or working full-time.

As time passes by and my years of motherhood gain a bit more experience, I forgive myself for the things I don’t do well—- I don’t balance the checkbook (although my husband does). I don’t remove laundry promptly from the dryer. I hardly can stand to organize our kitchen junk drawer or take both of my kids shopping often. There is freedom in knowing: There are several ways to be an incredible mom, and often, no two are alike.  But each one is gifted, valued, and appreciated— even if it’s a thankless job some days. 🙃

All moms, young and old are vast resources for a variety of tasks, and this weekend, I hope you are celebrated for what you do WELL!

We take inventory of how much ketchup or toothpaste is on hand. 

We tend to the gift-buying for birthday parties. 

We help with homework and crusade for screen time limits.

We cook (some of us better than others) and arrange for groceries.

We taxi the kids to activities and practice, and sometimes there in the car, we find ourselves in deep counseling-type conversations… while also picking up cold French fries and lost wrappers.

We read and pray at bedtime.

We fold laundry and help with changing the sheets.

Are you tired, yet? This is just a fraction of what our days look like!

Yes, we are true servants in our homes, and if we were not, our children would not know the joys of a loving mother. Our sacrifice is everyone else’s gain.

God gifted each one of us with a skill set that just cannot be rivaled. We each shoulder the responsibility of providing happy, wholesome childhoods, and hope to live up to expectations we sometimes create ourselves. 

You, mother, are amazing indeed. You are the nurturer of the home. The one who sets the “temperature” of the emotional thermostat of all who share life with you. You have the potential to build a lasting, firm foundation in your child’s faith and emotional stability, all the while working on your own. 

May you see your own motherhood as a constant opportunity to show selfless love and may your children be blessed because YOU are their mom. 

Proverbs 31:28–29 reads, "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'"

Today, put your feet up, and rest. 🥰

Happy Mother’s Day, you amazing creation!

The Gift of a Rescue

Recently, I saw an image of a weary man, fallen on the sand, hand outstretched, as if to give his last effort to reach for help… and from that one image, I envisioned the whole of humanity, since time dawned on Earth, collectively aching and reaching out for a Savior.  

In the last few years, we have been through a lot. The world is tired.  One doesn’t have to look far to acknowledge our need for help… I would say it has likely been this way since the Garden of Eden.

For as quickly as the Creator created, His creations denied His love. It only took until Genesis chapter 3 for the trajectory to change dramatically. Instead of intimately living with God, following His will, and abundantly abiding in a perfect world, Adam and Eve’s fall was ours as well. 

Since then, God has repeatedly proven faithful in pursuing us with His love (see whole Bible).  And, seemingly, just as faithfully, humans of all time have remained steeped in selfishness, saturated in sin. All of us, to varying degrees, have “fallen short and sinned” (Romans 3:23).

We are so pathetic, really.

It moved me to think how human, how lowly, how needy we all are.

The worst of us all can be played out nightly on the news, and had Lester Holt’s Nightly News been around in the B.C. era, the same stories would have been reported. In analogy, we are crawling desperately, like that man in the sand, marred with the choices we make as we live according to the flesh. 

For all the crimes and misdeeds committed over and over on this spinning Earth, we should hardly be able to lift our chins to see our Rescuer. Sadly, many people won’t. Many missed Him and even walked this Earth with Him.

However…

Our God possesses a staggering love. 

Rescue was His plan all along.  And Jesus was the only way to see us out of our darkness. 

He entered and lifted our chins for us so that we can accept these truths:

We are darkness, He is light. (1 John 1:5)

We are lowly, He is exalted. (Psalm 46:10)

We are filthy, He is pure. (Hebrews 4:15)

We are bound, He is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

We are parched, He is living water.  (John 4:14)

As soon as Jesus bridged the canyon between man and God, darkness is now only an option. We don’t have to live steeped in selfishness, saturated in sin. His life sacrifice removed all the misdeeds from Eve’s first bite to Earth’s last sin.

God is so holy and so righteous but we are so fallen and foul. Only the cost of Jesus’ life could remedy the pain of centuries and the guilt of all. As if this was not wonderful enough, the even better news is that we don’t have to earn it!  It is free for the taking, if you only accept it.

And when you do, you are no longer just a weary wanderer of this Earth, but a new creation!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

May you be reminded this Holy Week of God’s plan for your redemption.  

May you ponder the wealth of love God has for us all in the gift of a rescue that was so very necessary. 

May you feel hopeful.

Just like that first image of the man in the sand, there is one of another Man hanging on a cross. This Man, however, is giving His last effort to extend all the help we need. ❤️

Strength for the Middle

 

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Waiting is the hardest, especially when you don’t know how long the wait will be. 

Months? Years? Decades? 

When the starting momentum has long since faded, and the end result seems nowhere nearby, it’s the middle that can undo a person. This waiting can be described as a desert period for many. It’s dry and, at times, hopeless.  

In the middle, changes, though subtle, are happening.  You are perhaps growing, becoming better at trusting in whatever God’s plan is. It’s this period that matters most. 

What will you do in the middle? 

Many don’t have the fortitude to see it through. Too many calendar pages have turned. Many don’t have the patience required of them, because giving up on hope seems the easier way out. 

Drawing an analogy from a suspension bridge, I had to google just how the middle is supported…. My guess is that it would be the weakest point on any bridge, and therefore, need the most attention. If it weren’t for the two towers on each end of the bridge, the middle would surely collapse. The many steel cables that attach the middle to the towers are the reason the middle stays strong.

We may not have visible steel cables, attaching us to towers, but we are all surely tethered to something. Is God your supply of hope and strength for the middle of your journey? Do you draw daily from His wisdom? How about a verse that you cling to as reminder of God’s promises?

Being tethered to other things can seem to get us by for a while…. We humans can drink, shop, eat, complain, and  escape with the best of them. When there is nothing to do but wait, it’s easy for us to distract ourselves in some fashion. But those pursuits are costly as well, and only pacify for the short term. 

We see that “waiting” is a common theme in the Bible. Many of the stories we read involve years (like 20, 30, 40!) before a result is brought forth. Many of the people in the Bible were impatient, and as a result, tried to alter or fix the situation, without God’s help. Eek! Talk about cutting the tethers!

No matter how long your middle has lasted, may you be encouraged today that this is the part that really matters, and just like a bridge, it’s the part that needs the most attention. This is where God will meet you and sustain you when you would rather not take the next step. When nothing has changed and each day seems the same as the one before, God can weave together your story in His perfect timing, leaving no doubt that His hands have been all over it the whole time.

When you are tethered to the Lord, friend, you are held.

You are secure.

The middle might be long.

The middle might be scary.

But, the middle is where your faith can come alive, mature, and strengthen.  What you do in your middle- your waiting—- can be the difference in a collapse of your own undoing or a deliverance into the plan God has for you. 

Tether yourself to the Almighty One… only He can provide strength for the middle.

More verses for the middle:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

“As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses round us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right-hand side of God's throne.”  Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-2‬ ‭