Psalm 13
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Sometimes being a mother of little babies/preschoolers can feel lonely. We have to choose to believe the Word of the Lord. We can get stuck in a cycle of "assumicide" or "presumiscide"- presuming things about others and it just kills/drains us. We don't know what's going on in the lives of our friends. Don't live life alone. When we catch ourselves going down that road, grab a friend and God's word and begin to pray the scripture. We need freedom (and have to give the freedom to others) to not be perfect. You will have more freedom when you aren't comparing yourself to another. The way to get back on track is through prayer and time with God. Even if you're prayer conversations sound like this sometimes:
Interesting Conversation with God.Author- Unknown, from a forwarded email (Mary says sorry she can't find the author's name)
Me: God, can I ask you a question?
God: Sure.
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
God: I promise.
Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late.
God: Yes.
Me: My car took forever to start.
God: Okay.
Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.
God: Hmmm.
Me: On the way home my phone went dead just as I picked up a call.
God: Okay.
Me: And on top of all that, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
God: Well, let me see. The Death Angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me: (humbled): OH...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The person who made your first sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what he has.
I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me: (embarrassed): Ok...
God: Your phone went dead because the person who was calling was going to give false witness about what you said during that call. I didn't even let you talk to them so that you would be covered.
Me: (softly) I see, God.
God: Oh, and that foot massager had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me in all things, the good and the bad.
Me: I will trust you.
God: And don't doubt that MY plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't, God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome, child. It was just another day being your God, and I love looking after my children.
God: Sure.
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
God: I promise.
Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late.
God: Yes.
Me: My car took forever to start.
God: Okay.
Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.
God: Hmmm.
Me: On the way home my phone went dead just as I picked up a call.
God: Okay.
Me: And on top of all that, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
God: Well, let me see. The Death Angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me: (humbled): OH...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The person who made your first sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what he has.
I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me: (embarrassed): Ok...
God: Your phone went dead because the person who was calling was going to give false witness about what you said during that call. I didn't even let you talk to them so that you would be covered.
Me: (softly) I see, God.
God: Oh, and that foot massager had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me in all things, the good and the bad.
Me: I will trust you.
God: And don't doubt that MY plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't, God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome, child. It was just another day being your God, and I love looking after my children.
Mary shared about her experience with her daughter (now almost 29) being diagnosed at 2 1/2 years old with leukemia while being pregnant with her second child on the way. How do you handle a situation like that? She explained how she was just grateful that she knew God. She remembers sitting on her mom's couch and crying and just thanking God that she knew Him already- because He would carry her through this situation. (I'm not so sure I would have reacted the same way??) She asked the question- Who's kids are they? They are God's. Laura is still an amazing testimony of God's grace, miracles, and His strength. She battled 2 brain tumors this summer and recovered well and is teaching at the preschool. You would never know or guess her struggles - but God is greater. God has carried their family through. Reminds me to be grateful for God's blessings and thank Him daily for good health!
We have the ability to parent from a place of FEAR or from a place of VICTORY. When we parent with victory, there is much more freedom, less tension and joy!
We also must remember to cultivate the fruits of the spirit in our own lives. We can't say "be kind" to our kids while we are constantly nagging our husbands. We have to practice what we are teaching. We can't make our kids love Jesus. We have to be real and live it our inf front of them. When we live from a place of love, joy, peace, patience . . . they will want to experience what we have.
Above all, we need HIM (period) to live. Pray the scripture over yourself and your kids. You are praying the will of God over them when you prays scripture- because it's HIS Word. Not only should we pray for our own kids, we need to be loving and praying for our friends children as well. God gave the example of leaving the 99 for the 1 who was struggling- it's the same with us today. When we see someone struggling- let's lift each other up in prayer. Prayer is the answer to everything.
Pray with your kids. Inspire them by asking questions. Ask them to think of 3 great things that happened today and thank God for it. (It's ok if they say they love the blue sky- encourage them- God created that- it's beautiful as part of his creation- encourage them in the simple things- it's a start!) Praise God. Give him Thanks. Tell God if you are anxious about something. If you are worried or nervous. Also- be quick to apologize. They learn repentance from us. It softens the home when we are willing to admit we messed up or made a mistake.
Sorry for the long blog. There were just great notes from our time together. Again, hoping you can gain something from this. Let me know what you took away from the brunch!
2 comments:
Mary was such an encouragement in the simple task of remembering to pray. When hearing her talk about her baby being diagnosed with leukemia, and then hearing that the ONLY thing that has strengthened her through the years was prayer...well it really emphasizes how important prayer is.
I've already incorporated asking questions at night to encourage the girls in their prayer time. It's going great. I hope to cultivate a spirit of prayer in my children.
Laine, thanks so much for sharing Mary's wisdom. She certainly walks her talk, and I'm bummed to have missed it, as well as the other great Mommy brunches.
I love that she emphasized we as moms cannot COMPARE our mom-walk with anyone else's, because God divinely chose to give our kids to US, and we get our instructions from HIM alone. Comparing does nothing but distract. Working, staying home, preschool, school in general, diets, discipline---all up to you, hubby & God--and nobody else. Good stuff.
Love you! Hugs!
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