Tuesday, January 14, 2014

For the Weary Mom

Today was long, I know.

Everything seemed to take twice as long as it usually does, attitudes began to sour early on, and by the time you got the kids to bed you had nothing left.  The last thing they saw before turning in was the look of frustration on your face because you just wanted the day to be over.

You raised your voice today and immediately regretted it.  Again you apologized and again you repented and again you wondered why this battle is so difficult to win.  The little ones were out of control and no one was interested in reading a book.  You were too tired to argue.

You wanted to pray but the words seemed stuck.  All you could muster was "Jesus..." and your voice trailed off as your heart sank.  You know you should pray.  You even carved out a few seconds to spend with God, but by the time you sat down alone you couldn't even get through one chapter of Scripture without your eyes becoming heavy and sleep closing in.

So another day has come and gone and all you have managed to say to God is "Jesus."  You feel like a failure and wonder how in the world are you going to raise these kids to love Him when you struggle to even talk to Him?  Why would they want to be like you when you appear to be miserable?

Oh, sweet mom.  It may not feel like it now, but God has you right where He wants you.

You're at the end of yourself?  Good.  Because at the end of yourself stands the Lover of your soul with his arms stretched wide.  Yes, dear mama, grace has driven you straight into the arms of Jesus.  Look up into His face.  Do you see that?  He is not disappointed in you.  No, He is smiling!  He loves you so and He knows your weakness.  He heard your cry...that one word that just happens to be the Name that is above all names...and He is there.  He beckons you to rest, dear one.  Sit and ignore the laundry.  Open the Bible with just one goal-to hear His voice.  Drop your agenda and let Him have His way.  He will lift your burden.

This day that you thought would never end?  It has.  Stop beating yourself up, for you can never go forward by looking backward.  Open your hands and let God fill your empty spaces.  Realize that you are not battling against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and the rulers of this present darkness.  (Eph. 6:1)  Know that the battle rages because you intend to raise your kids for the glory of God and the enemy will fight it tooth and nail.

But you know what?  The battle has already been won!  Are you standing in the victory you have in Christ? Are you praying from a position of victory or failure?  Do you realize that Romans 5 declares you have been justified by faith?  Yes, you have been justified..."just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned."  What a beautiful word.  What an incredible place from which to approach the Lord!  And it goes on..."we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Peace...ah, yes.  The elusive goal of every mother.  We just. want. peace.  Today you may not have achieved that in your home, but whether you felt it or not, Romans says you have peace with God.  That moment when you yelled at your child for leaving the freezer door open for the umpteenth time?  Yes, that lapse in judgement, that failure, did nothing to disrupt the peace you have with God!
"For while we were still weak, Christ died for the ungodly."
Do you see it?  Do you see that He sacrificed the most when we were at our worst?  Do you realize the depth of His pleasure over you?  Do you think that approaching Him from a position of peace and victory might change the way you pray?
I do.  I have.  It did.

So soak in His pleasure, dear mama.  Let Him give you a new vision for tomorrow, a vision of grace covering your failures and love spilling out of your soul into the hearts of your kids.  A vision of choosing to forgive yourself because He has already forgiven you and raising your kids from a place of peace and victory.  Let God have His way with your heart, then creep upstairs and lay your hands on your babies.
Fight for them tonight and pray over them as they sleep.  Let the Holy Spirit give you the words you lack. Pray passionately in His strength with the heart of a warrior, because that is exactly what you are.

"Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."  (Romans 5:4-5)

May the God of all hope grant you the vision He has for your family.  May the reality of your right standing before Him bring healing to your spirit and hope to your heart.  May you rejoice in hope of the glory of God, knowing that He is at work and has poured His love into your heart.  And, finally, may you remember that He wants you to stay at the end of your rope...

because from there you can jump safely into His arms.  

beach, sunrise, morning, Great is Thy Faithfulness

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for this post, I love it, and needed the reminder too.

    ReplyDelete

Let's keep the conversation going...