I’m sitting with you in my kitchen, the heat vent by my
feet hasn’t stopped since I’ve been sitting here, and it’s a cold, frosty
morning in January. The window above my kitchen sink is just a hue of white as
the snow falls quickly. I don’t mind mornings like this, with a hot cup of
steaming coffee and my house hunkered down in a blanket of white. I picture a
small Christmas village with the little house sitting in a white field, standing
out with its glowing, lighted windows and how it just looks warm.
As wonderful and picturesque as this season can be, it
also is the same season that brings coughs, fevers and a whole slew of things
our kids can pick up. Our house has been full of sickness for a few months now,
every time we seem to be on the mend, someone else comes down with the next
virus. My littlest gets chronic ear infections, we’ve had surgery, seen
specialists and he still can’t seem to get a cold without the ear infection
right behind. My daughter has an autoimmune disorder and when she gets a virus,
it can hang on for weeks. To say I’ve felt defeated and consumed by all this
sickness (and worry) has been an understatement. My husband reminded me in a
light hearted chuckle, “This is Parenthood, babe.”
This morning as I cracked open my devotional; I was so
taken back with the entry that seemed to speak so clearly to my weary,
frustrated heart.
So often we feel frantic, unsure at what to do or how to
handle something. We allow our minds to spin, we plan out 15 steps ahead (like we
can even know the future!!) or we stress over all the details. What an
exhausting cycle…
Matthew 11:28 says; “Come
to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
He’s not saying we will
have a special nap and be all better. He’s telling us to stop our vicious cycle
and ask Him for help & direction.
STOP running yourself
ragged. Be still and then take the next step. NOT the next 10. Not the whole
path; Just the next step. So much can be learned in that space, if we just
slowed down to see what was there and to hear what God has to say. “Where our
strength ends is where His will begins.”
I’m starting to find peace in the idea that even in those
lonely, frustrating moments of Motherhood, when we’re desperately seeking
relief for our kids and mourning the loss of our ‘regular’ daily lives, the
Lord is molding us for the future. He’s asking us, “Do you trust me?” He’s
giving us stamina for our futures. He’s molding our hearts to slow down and
know that HE IS GOD and worrying doesn’t do anybody any good.
It’s only January, and as the snow falls out my window
and the idea of more sickness looms in my future, I have to stop thinking 15
steps ahead and focus on what’s here in my day, right now- and with that find rest.
