Oct
20
52home
Filed under Biblical Womanhood | 52home 5:11 p.m. Fall Chalkboard
“I cried to thee, O Lord.” Ps. 30:8
“Prayer is the unfailing resource of the anxious mother,” to paraphrase Charles Spurgeon:
“If they are driven to their wits’ end, they may still go to the mercy-seat….Let us never forget to pray, and let us never doubt the success of prayer… Mirth and carnal amusements are a sorry prescription for a mind distracted and despairing. Prayer will succeed where all else fails.”
We are often “at our wits’ end” with our children. We feel like we’ve tried everything and we don’t know what else to do. So we worry: Will my toddler never stop throwing temper tantrums? Will my teenager ever open up to me again? Will my children ever turn to Christ?
But instead of worrying, we are to cry to the Lord on behalf of our children. We must not forget to pray. And we must believe that prayer works: it will succeed where all our mothering efforts fail.
What worries do you need to bring to the mercy-seat today?
“They…were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” Ps. 107:27, 28
(adapted from the archives)
Whew! After devotions, exercise, grocery store run, beds made, dishes done, house straightened, laundry underway, Chad homeschooled, soccer carpool completed, editing project for my husband finished—I can finally attempt to write a post
Life is busy!
And it’s not just me. Whether you are a student, holding down a job, or caring for a family—the fall season unfailingly fills our lives with lots to do.
So what does it look like to glorify God in the midst of a busy season?
The first must-have to survive—and even thrive—during busy seasons: humility.
I still remember the wise and helpful counsel my husband CJ shared with me many years ago when I was having one of those “I just can’t get it all done” breakdown crying sessions. When he finally got the chance to speak, he said: “Carolyn, only God completes His to-do list. We are not God. We are finite creatures with serious limitations. Therefore we need to humble ourselves by accepting our limitations and draw upon God’s strength to simply do what we can.” CJ’s advice not only helped me then, but continues to benefit me to this day.
Here are 3 simple ways we can be mindful of our limitations as we make our to-do lists these days:
1. Separate the-really-do-matter items from the really-don’t-matter items—of course doing the really-do-matter items first.
2. Simplify the really-do-matter items where possible. (e.g. pizza for dinner or store-bought cookies for entertaining.)
3. Trust God for all the things on the list that don’t get done.
Let’s honor God by responding to our “endless” list of to-dos with humility—joyfully accepting our limitations and simply doing what we can.
(reprinted from the archives)
My new favorite drink (thanks Joshua and Bethany!)...
1 glass of limeade
+ 1 splash of cherry juice
+ 2 or 3 cherries
= 1 very refreshing glass of cherry limeade
There is not grace for our imagination. But there is grace for today’s mothering trials. Not tomorrow’s imaginary trouble or next year’s envisaged problems. Just for today.
That’s why Jesus tells us: “[D]o not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:34)
Moms of all people know this to be true: each day really does have sufficient trouble without adding tomorrow’s worries!
But for today’s sufficient trouble there is God’s more than sufficient grace: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). “As your days” it says in Deuteronomy, “so shall your strength be” (33: 25).
What’s more, for the Christian mother, goodness and mercy are behind every moment of today’s trouble. Our trouble isn’t meaningless. God is pursuing us with goodness and mercy today and all the days of our lives (Ps. 23:6).
“Courage, dear friend” encourages Charles Spurgeon, “The Lord, the ever-merciful, has appointed every moment of sorrow and pang of suffering. If He ordains the number ten, it can never rise to eleven, nor should you desire that it shrink to nine” (emphasis mine).
God is busy working today’s trouble for our good. So do not worry about tomorrow but look to Him today.
