As I was having my quiet time this morning, I came across this passage, & I felt that it was so relevant to my life right now. I'm hoping maybe it will encourage you, as it did me.
We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. Colossians 1:9-12 MSG
Now, to be honest, there are definitely days where I feel like that gritting my teeth strength is the only thing I can give, especially in the weird world we live in right now.
Some days, I don't even have that.
My family will tell you, there are days that I have a hard time getting out of bed. It all feels so overwhelming. The to do list is too long. There is uncertainty over how to handle certain problems. I don't want to hear any more bad news from the tv. On those days, I can't even find the "grit my teeth" strength.
(I think as a mom, this is par for the course sometimes. But, if you're feeling this way daily, I'd seriously encourage you to talk to someone- a spouse, a friend, or a counselor. )
Anyway, I share this to say, I feel ya & it's horrible to experience.
I often end up feeling guilty about it.
"If I was a good mom, I would suck it up & make a big, cooked breakfast like Mrs. Smith."
"I have no good reason to be feeling like this."
Or maybe, I'll get angry.
"If my husband would just help, I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed."
"My kids are behaving so rotten today, I may give them away soon."
As you likely know, neither guilt, nor anger, does anything but accelerate the downward spiral.
So here's the great news, the passage up there talks about something called "Glory-Strength." I visualize it as supermom strength. Scripture says that this strength:
"endures the unendurable" (unendurable = your fully potty trained 3 year old pooped in his underwear during naptime & did unspeakable things with it)
AND "it spills over into joy".
Let me tell you friend, those unendurable things, I've never, EVER had one spill into joy. Maybe once or twice, I've laughed, but that was more like a mental breakdown kind of laughter, rather than joy...
The really encouraging part for me, is that I don't have to conjure up that "glory-strength." I want to be the supermom who possesses that kind of strength, but in order to reach it, I have to look to the one who gives it freely.
So today, or tomorrow, when you grit your teeth or feel like you can't keep doing the hard work of mom-ing, be encouraged that there is a source of strength beyond you. It's my belief that will sustain you, even during these uncharted times.
As always, love to you all.
Until the next adventure.
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