Do you ever feel like you’re in over your head, Mama?
Me too.
Just the other day I had the thought, “What have I done? I have too many children!”
It was only a fleeting thought, and I’m not proud of it. But I wanted to share it with you to let you know that you’re not alone if you’ve had similar thoughts. Maybe not about your children. Maybe about who you married. Maybe about a move you made. Maybe about a career path you chose. Anything that makes you question if you’re on the right path. Or if you’re cut out for this.
Obviously I don’t really believe I had too many children. God gave them to me after all, each precious and wildly unique one.
I’ve often heard people say that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.
Personally, I think God does allow us more than we can handle.
In my experience, that’s the only way we learn to fully depend on him. I can be pretty darn self-sufficient. That is, until I reach the end of my rope. And when that happens, it can get ugly. Ask my husband.
On second thought… don’t! Ha!
I feel it’s worth mentioning that there is always an end to the rope. It’s finite. We can only handle so much on our own. Sometimes I try to stretch the rope with extra sleep, extra coffee, extra wine, time with friends. But all the self-medicating and self-help in the world won’t suffice.
I need GRACE.
I need to receive it. And give it.
And it flows best in that order!
Receive grace. Give grace. Repeat.
Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness? How did it make you feel? Didn’t it fill you with gratitude and inspire you to turn around and show kindness to someone else? I find that grace works a lot like that, too!
But sometimes in the hustle and chaos of motherhood, when we hardly have the opportunity to take a 30 second shower, a daily spiritual practice takes a backseat. It doesn’t seem to call to us quite as loudly or urgently as the screaming child with the skinned knee in the driveway or the milk dripping onto the dining room floor or the dryer buzzing yet again.
We must be intentional, Mamas!
One of my favorite books is The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson. He explains how the simple acts we perform day in and day out have a compounding effect and a potentially massive impact on our lives, for better or for worse. It’s critical that we take care of the important things and not just the urgent things.
Your spiritual well-being is important! So my challenge to you is to conduct a simple self-examination. Think about it. Who or what is your source? How are you tapping in to that source on a daily basis?
If you’ve got a good thing going, keep it up! (And please share your tips.)
If a change is in order, what might that look like in your life? Where in your daily routine might you regularly find a few moments to be still and receive some grace?
5 Comments
I have started writing out the Psalms. I don’t do it every morning, but most. Writing it out has made me stop and really contemplate God….who He is, what He is really like. I see this small thing effecting many areas of my life…feeling grace filled and giving more grace.
I listen to scripture on the way to the gym in the morning, and I pray + meditate for a few moments sitting in my car in the garage when I return home. It puts a positive lens on my day!
Such a wonderful reminder. My hubby has said the same – God does give us more than we can handle so that He can help us and grow us. That’s why I love the simplicity of the word and song “Limitless”…WE are limitless but our Source, God Almighty, is not. Hallelujah!
agree Kathie, the simple act of writing it out helps you contemplate ,and retain what you’ve read, and leads to prayer many times
Was just sharing with a friend that I have a strong desire to bring more discipline into my life. When one area is out of control, all areas feel out of control. As we start our new week, we have a battle plan and am asking for MUCH grace as we implement it! Timely post.