It’s Sunday evening, 8:52 PM.
The kids are in bed and my husband is out for the moment.
Quiet times like these are rare for this momma and I’m using this one to think over the day:
Mother’s Day. My4th one if you count the one when I was first pregnant.
Mother’s Day never ceases to overwhelm me. I’m so thankful for the privilege to be a mommy to 2 beautiful children. And I’m grateful for the loving Mom God placed in my life. But I also sit in church and think of all the women around me…
- the lady sitting next to me – pregnant and thinking of her child to be born
- the mom in front of me – a precious lady with beautiful kids
- the girl whose mom isn’t present – at church or in her life
- the elderly wife who has always wanted children, but was never able to become pregnant
- the teenager whose mom died
And I’m overwhelmed.
There is one thread that runs clearly through all of these things. You know what it is?
Grace.
God’s matchless and undeserved grace.
It gives the pregnant lady the ability to give praise during months of sickness.
It gives the mom with beautiful kids the strength to be consistent in child-rearing.
It gives the girl whose mom isn’t present the comfort she desperately desires.
It gives the elderly woman without her own children a heart that reaches out and nurtures those without a mother.
It gives the teenager whose mom died the direction and attention she craves.
This grace is what carries a person through and allows her to still be gracious and loving at the end of her trial.
No – even more than that. This is the grace that allows a lady to be joyful and full of the same grace during the trial.
Where are you today?
- Are you overwhelmed with the grace of Jesus?
- Or are you overwhelmed by your trial?
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
Psalm 61:1-3
Comments
7 responses to “overwhelmed”
So very true. It reminds me of what I’ve been mulling over from “One Thousand Gifts” (not fully endorsed). The author shares her journey from an empty life resistant to God because of hurt to a life full of joy. And her means for that journey was thankfulness – in little things like roses on a trellis, curls of cheese, laughter of kids. And seeing all of those as gifts from God. And as a decision to choose thankfulness and choose grace. A great reminder!
good thought to think about when you feel overwhelmed. I will be reminding myself of this often! 🙂 praying that I can seek and feel and know God’s grace instead of my trial!
Thanks for the challenge, Christa!
Oh, that’s so good. I’ve heard good things about that book. what a great reminder. you know, if we just obeyed what the Bible said (such as “in everything give thanks”) we’d be a lot better off. 😀
it was a blessing to me too!
About two weeks before my baby was born I was hospitalized for preeclampsia and possibly the help syndrome (I had symptoms it was just never confirmed). Two days after the hospitalization I finally realized that I could die or have a stroke and not be able to take care of my baby or experience any of the joys of motherhood. That is when I asked the Lord if He would allow me to be able take care of my baby. The delivery ended up being successful. Sometimes I remember that moment in the hospital when I am mopping the floor, cooking supper, or when the baby would cry and refuse to be comforted. Today as a read your article I was reminded again. It is a blessing to be a mother, a wife, and to be able to complete any task whether it be cooking, cleaning, or running errands. Thanks for helping me to remember.
Thanks for sharing that story. What a powerful reminder of the blessing of health!
Great and lovely post and reflects my feelings on Mothers Day as well. I have a number of tough mothers days a few years in a row as we didnt have my daughter until we had been married for seven years, yet I longed so much to have a precious little one in my arms. So I understand the feeling of those ladies who wanted to be a mom to kids of their own and yet are not, and I also know the overwhelming joy of gratitude for a life blessed with children.
And I agree that God’s grace can cover it all. In those years I was without my own children, the Lord really directed me to be involved in the lives of children at my church, and He blessed me with relationships with those kids that i still maintain today. And he taught me a lot about how sufficient His grace was for me.
I can also relate to the struggle of not having a Christian mother in your life. But God is so good He has supplied me with surrogate mothers along the way. He is a good god indeed.
thanks for the reflections!