Spinning Our Wheels

Have you ever seen a car that has gotten its wheels stuck in the mud? The passenger or onlooker usually gets out to help navigate the driver on what is actually going on back there. The driver works as hard as they can to pull him or herself out of the mud when all it feels like is that they are just spinning their wheels.

I have had those days even when I am not in my car, how about you?

Some days I wake up ready to face the world head on, leaping piles of laundry like a superhero, vacuuming at lightning speeds and whipping up dinner in a snap! But can I be honest, some days this is not the case. I try to be superwoman everyday! The operative word here being TRY! But trying to be super wife, super mom, super friend, super at everything....is super tiring. I seriously believe even superheros get tired! I, just once, want to see a movie where Superwoman, walks in the door, takes off her cape, plops onto the couch, opens a pint of Ben & Jerry's and just chills out! HA, yeah right!

Here is the thing though friend and fellow super woman, we cannot do this alone. When we try to be "super" all the time without the help of our Heavenly Father, we are going to tire, we are going to feel like the mundane of everyday life is causing us to spin our wheels in the mud. One thing that we need to remember is that He sees us even in the mundane, even when no one else notices. God meets us right where we are and right where we need Him. He is our only hope and chance to be "super"!

The enemy wants you to believe that you can do it all by yourself without God's help but God's Word says in John 10:10, "the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:" See, my friend the devil is a liar. He wants nothing more than for you to be miserable. He wants to steal the joy that you can have in homemaking and taking care of your family because that is a gift from God. It is a biblical calling (Titus 2:4-5).

God sees you in the quiet moments when no one else is watching. The times when you are up to your eyeballs folding what seems to be mountains of laundry, doing dishes for that crowd of 5,000 that you don't remember feeding or pressing out wrinkles in the clothes that have been in a basket since last Tuesday. He sees you! He cherishes those moments when you are alone and can call on Him for rest, for peace, and for strength. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." We need to turn and rely on Him for our strength!

When we feel as though the mundane acts of our everyday lives are nothing more than chores and duties, we have lost sight of how God intended for us to live.

Right now, I pray that you, whoever you are, will stop and take a moment to turn to God and ask Him to restore the joy in your life, restore the joy in the amazing responsibility that He has bestowed upon us as keepers of the home, as women who love our families and as daughters of an Almighty King!

Til' next time friend!

It's ok to be weak

How often do we pray, "Lord give me strength"?

Strength to face the day to day. Strength to face the adversities that come our way. Strength to face whatever it is that the enemy throws at us. Strength as a mother to handle the ins-and-outs of your household. Strength to deal with life through the birth of a child and strength to deal with death in the loss of a loved one. But what if I told you that we aren't meant to be that strong?

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

It is through our weakness that Christ's strength is made perfect for us. When we allow ourselves to be broken and exposed, vulnerable and helpless, that is when we are able to see Christ's strength. The strength we need to make it through that endless day, those daunting hours and those minute by minute situations that make us feel like we can't go on. Isaiah 40:29 says "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." 

When we feel that showing signs of emotion during hard times is weakness, it's like we are saying, "No, that's ok God, I got this. I can handle this situation on my own without Your strength." When in all reality, you are like a shaken soda bottle, bubbling and bubbling inside with all of this built up fear, frustration, anger, sadness, and pent up emotion. One day, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day, something or someone is going to twist your cap off and when they do, all of that uncut, pressed down and festered emotion is going to burst out like a destructive volcano causing more damage and harm to you and those around you. 

No matter what you are facing, there is perfect strength waiting to wrap His arms around you, waiting to embrace your weakness and wanting to cover you with His wings! The Lord "knows the hope of the helpless", He will hear their cries and comfort them! (Psalm 10:17) 

Let yourself be vulnerable, my friend, let yourself be weak because it is then that we experience the awe-inspiring strength that only comes from Jesus Christ! 

Til' next time...