A few weeks ago I was contacted by one of the leaders in my mom's group (Shout out to my Mom2Mom ladies!!! You gals are amazing!!!) asking if I would give a short devotional at the final meeting of the school year. I'll admit I was a little taken back by the request as the leaders in the group know what my life has been like lately, but I didn't say no. Instead I found myself saying yes because just a few weeks earlier I had told one of those leaders that I wanted to start serving again so if there was anything I could do to help to let me know. God reminded me of that conversation when I was tempted to say no, and He also spoke into my heart that is was time to stop hiding and starting sharing myself again. And so I wrote and gave a short devotional that day, and afterwards I had a few people tell me that I should share it on Facebook. Well this isn't Facebook, but here is what I wrote and shared that day...
Boy this year has passed by quickly hasn't it? It seems like just yesterday my kids were climbing onto the bus for the first day of school. If you life is anything like mine a lot has changed throughout this school year. Some of those changes brought joy, like seeing my 7 year old finally grasp reading and start taking great delight in books or watching my 11 year old discover the artist within herself, and some of those changes have brought frustration or pain. I have had some major frustration and great pain this year. This summer will no doubt also bring times of great joy and I know, from experience, the joy of having my kids around all the time will bring moments of great frustration.
Well, here is what I have learned in this school year filled with joy, sorrow, and frustration...God is good, God is faithful, God loves me..right here, right now, in the midst of great pain and frustration. That pain, that frustration, does not mean that God has turned away. It means I need to turn to Him, press into Him, rely on Him to help me, to shore me up, to carry me through.
So, this summer when your baby won't sleep, when your toddler makes yet another epic mess, when your pre-schooler throws a monster tantrum, when your grade schooler is "bored" again despite the fact that their room is akin to a natural disaster site because of how blessed they are with toys, and when your pre-teen or teen yells at you that you "don't care/understand" and "this is so unfair" once again I want you to remember this, even when you feel like you failing, and flailing, so badly that no one should even like you...
God sees you, God knows you, and God loves you.
For the LORD your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
****Side note: If you live in the Galesburg, IL area and don't have a mom's group I would love to get you connected with the fabulous ladies at Mom2Mom. They are seriously a wonderful group of women. Even though our regular meetings are over until next school year we still get together during the summer at a local park regularly, so leave me a comment if you want to connect!****
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