"He will feed His flock like a shepherd: He will gather the lambs in His arms, He will carry them in His bosom and will gently lead those that have their young." Isaiah 40:11
I have spoken with a lot of moms since becoming one myself nearly 17 years ago, and the thing I hear most often is their concern over not spending enough time in God's word. Moms understand the importance of being divinely led, and they want to be. However in the back of their mind there seems to be this tendency to think they have to clock in a certain amount of time with God to receive that benefit. This is simply not true. Don't get me wrong. If and when you have time, pray and read your Bible. However, if you're beating yourself up because you only have 5 minutes a day to do a quick devotional, and your prayer time is an exercise in multitasking (ie, in the shower, while you drive, while you clean the house, etc.), stop it!
The truth is God not only made mothers and children. He made motherhood! He is aware of how much it takes out of us to be good mothers. He sees the sleepless nights because the baby won't stop crying. He sees the countless times of reviewing multiplication facts because the 8 year old just doesn't get it. He sees the endless cooking, cleaning, and laundry that must be kept up with. He sees the hour long conversation with the tween over their hurt feelings. He sees the life lesson counseling of the teenager who is struggling to juggle the stretching demands. And that is all "typical" parenting. If you are an adoptive parent, a foster parent, a step parent, single mom, special needs parent, or a parent with your own medical issues - He sees you. He knows fully every struggle you are experiencing. He created motherhood, and He is intimately aware of each of our individual motherhood walks.
Let's look at that scripture again. "He will feed His flock like a shepherd." That is provision ... providing for your needs. "He will gather the lambs in His arms." That is protection. "He will carry them in His bosom." That is comfort. "And will gently lead those that have their young." That is guidance and direction. What an incredible promise to those of us with young! We are trying to lead our young, but let us be aware that it requires us to be led also. I love that it's a gentle leading. You don't think God understands the weariness motherhood can produce? I do! Motherhood is a beautiful picture of giving to our children the very things we have graciously received from our Heavenly Father.
I remember when Hannah was first diagnosed back in 2003. I couldn't get enough of God's word. I couldn't spend enough time with Him. I was absolutely desperate for daily bread from Him. However, I had a child who just wanted to sit in my lap and watch Disney movies. She would fixate on a certain movie, and that would be the movie of choice for weeks on end. At first I enjoyed our time watching the movie together. Then I felt like I should be doing something more spiritual with my time. I mean there's only so many times you can watch the Lion King! It had gotten to the point where my son and I could quote the movie lines and sing all the songs. These movies started to become a real chore, and I was struggling to be my daughter's movie date.
And then one day something pretty incredible happened. You see, recently the Holy Spirit had been teaching me what it meant to be Spirit led. (Up to that point I had always been someone who had to take a poll about what everyone thought I should do before I could make a decision.) At the time, Hannah happened to be on a Finding Nemo kick. There we were sitting in the rocking chair when the scene with Dory speaking to the whale began. Dory is convinced she can speak whale, and Marlin is certain she cannot. They are asking for directions to Sydney when suddenly they are pulled into the whale's mouth. Dory is enjoying the whooshing ride of waves inside the whale while Marlin is freaking out. Then the water level starts to drop and Dory tells Marlin the whale has said to move to the back of his throat which has Marlin convinced they will be eaten. So as these two fish are hanging onto what appear to be taste buds on the whales tongue, Dory then tells Marlin the whale has said it's time to let go which she happily does. Marlin however, catches her fin. "How do you know something bad isn't gonna happen?!" he exclaims. "I don't,"she replies. Tightly closing his eyes, he lets go. Out the whale's blow-hole they go to find themselves in the harbor of Sydney, Australia. Exactly where they wanted to go!
In that moment I received such a clear picture of what a spirit led life looks like. Others may not understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. Heck! You may not understand what you are doing and why you are doing it! Being Spirit led many times can involve following unconventional methods. Once we've asked God for His leading we are to trust He's leading us, even if it doesn't look like "the right way." When you are Spirit led you can have perfect peace, even without understanding. Be aware that others may not be able to embrace the plan or peace you have. After all, you're the one who received the leading, not them. People may question your ability to be Spirit led, and that's fine. But don't let it stop you from acting on what you feel led to do. Someone may pose a valid question ... "How do you know something bad isn't going to happen?!" And it's okay to not know the answer. The simple truth is sometimes it takes more faith to let go than to hold on. We will not know which path to take if we are not being Spirit led.
What a timely, much needed lesson - and from watching a Disney movie for the hundredth time! I'm certain those thoughts were no where near the intent of the writer, but God can use ANYTHING to speak to us. And that is the point of this blog. If you are a mama and you feel like life has you running a million different directions, please know God is always speaking. God is not looking at a time card. He is looking on your heart, and He knows if your greatest heart's desire is to know His heart in a situation. He will be faithful to show you in whatever way He wills. If your only moments of down time are watching your child at swim practice or sitting in the carpool line, know that He knows that. God Almighty can speak to you through the crack of a baseball bat, a pile of dirty laundry, or a sign on the side of a road. Pray to have eyes that are open and ears that are listening. Look for ways He is confirming what He has shown you in scripture. He will, and it is pretty awesome when you realize the God of the universe is gently leading you.
Happy Mother's Day, dear friend! Have a beautifully blessed day!
*I would love to hear your stories about being gently led! Please leave them under the comments section. For those of you on my Facebook blog page, feel free to leave yours there. Let's encourage each other by rehearsing the faithfulness of God in our motherhood journeys! God Bless!
No comments:
Post a Comment