by his grace, through his word, for our joy, to his glory.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” Psalm 121:1
So often when I’m overwhelmed, looking for encouragement or affirmation, or need advice or comfort, I seek help by phoning a friend, venting about the situation to my husband, or maybe taking yet another look at my planner to try and figure out how to find an extra hour or two in my day. I look for “me time,” I make another pot of coffee, or I buy a new blouse online, all in an effort to find help….
As I shared over at Arabah Joy’s blog, many women struggle and grieve during Mother’s Day weekend. The Lord has encouraged me greatly through Psalm 13, and if your heart weeps this Mother’s Day, may these truths from God’s Word bring comfort and hope to you.
In this Psalm, let’s follow the Psalmist’s four questions, and then we’ll uncover the truth that answered the weeping of his broken heart….
Recently I was standing beside my newborn daughter’s crib, cradling her in my arms and rocking her back and forth. I was trying to soothe her down for a little nap, and I was suddenly so overcome with glad emotion that God had made this barren woman a mother….again.
As I swayed gently with her in the dim light, I began to sing softly to my Heavenly Father, filled with joy and marvel at this precious pink bundle that He had given to me.
I was singing and humming and began to be caught up in worshiping the Lord:
“Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
Highest praises, honor and glory, be unto Your name…be unto Your name..”
Before I could finish these words, I stopped singing.
How many days had it been since I had read my Bible? I hadn’t made it to church yet since the baby was born. I was wearing pajama pants and a shirt covered in spit up….from yesterday, I think. I had been wrestling with those crazy postpartum hormones (and losing), and I’d lost it (again) with my husband and my preschooler.
Until I could get myself together a bit more and find the wherewithal in this season of newborn-fog to spend time confessing my sins, and until I could get back into the scripture and spend time in prayer, I had no business worshiping before the throne of the Lord God Almighty. I was in no way worthy to echo the words of that song that the throng of heaven cries out in worship before Him who is seated on the throne (Revelation 4:8-11).
I would have to pay penance for my stumbling and sin. Some time would have to elapse before I could freely and unashamedly approach the Father in worship and praise. I would have to come to the Lord as a slave rather than as a son, for I had lost the privilege to enter His presence with emotion, affection, boldness, and joy….
As I’m chipping dried mustard from off the back of the high chair while on the phone (“on hold” again) hassling with the doctor’s office over insurance deductibles or co-pays, it feels like real spiritual work is being neglected, and I’m relegated to menial housework and tension headaches.
So often the practical, mundane, and repetitive tasks of keeping the home feel burdensome and draining……and very unspiritual. However, making your house a home can be a means of offering worship to God and serving Him in obedience and gratitude….
You’ve been up all night nursing a sick baby, and the next morning a friend calls and needs someone in whom she can confide her struggles; you serve in the church in what seems every capacity that exists, and you just have nothing left to offer; a friend betrays you..again..and you’re ready to “can” the relationship; it’s 10 p.m. and you’re still cleaning up the kitchen. Your husband’s dress shirts are wrinkly-cold in the dryer, crumbs still cover the kitchen table, and you’ve got to get up and do it all over again tomorrow……
Spending my days with my little son is the best thing ever. When he’s not schooling me on John Deere tractors and a three-point hitch, I’m showing him the tree where his bucketful of acorns came from, telling him why the moon is “gone” during the day, and helping him to learn how to carefully turn the paper pages of library books. We may finally have learned not to spit at strangers just because you’re nervous (yes, for real), but we’re still learning to share toys, pick up toys, and only throw toys that are meant to be thrown. And…what good opportunities to teach gospel-based doctrine to our toddler.
At 2 years old, he is learning the ropes of life — he’s exploring God’s world and the way God set things up to “tick,” so to speak. My husband and I are asking God for wisdom to use this time in our son’s life to point him continually to Christ and plant the seeds of the gospel in his heart. We pray that, like Timothy from the Bible, our son would from childhood know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make him wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15). At this age, though, teaching our son the scriptures does not involve a lot of formal education.
So, what doctrines are we teaching our 2-year-old during these days filled with potty-training, mealtimes, and lots of play? Our prayer and goal is to teach him the gospel.…
