A New Season
I dropped Emma off this morning for her first day of Parent's Day Out. Last night, I was a little nervous and sad as I packed her little lunch box and back pack, and thought about all the sweet days we've had just the two of us, and then lately the three of us, as Ellie made her arrival this summer. Yet, I am also excited for her to make new friends and learn different things. I am thankful for this next chapter in our lives as Emma gains a tiny bit of independence and I get a bit of one-on-one time with Ellie, as well as the opportunity to work from home while she naps.
Truth be told, I've had visions in my mind of all I would accomplish during Emma's five hours at "school". I would drop her off at nine, get back and do a few chores around the house, and be ready to be productive by ten. I planned to work a few hours, take a break for lunch, and then focus on my Young Living business. I knew my imaginary schedule would be interrupted with feeding Ellie; yet she is usually a calm baby, content to swing or sit in her bouncer if she's not sleeping.
However, as you might imagine, the morning has not gone as planned! Ellie has been fussy and I've felt sleepy and the time has flown by without getting as many tasks checked off my list as I had hoped. My natural tendency is to get frustrated and discouraged. I LOVE feeling productive and having an organized home and I definitely function better in a tidy environment. Nevertheless, my daily reality is that life doesn't always come together as I envision. Someone is always hungry, or needing a clean diaper, and no matter how many loads of laundry I do in a day, there is always another pile waiting on me...
In these moments, the Lord is teaching me that I have a choice about what I focus on. Will I choose gratitude and thankfulness for the precious lives He has entrusted to me? Will I choose to trust Him with my time? Will I complain or lean into the difficult moments and ask God what He is teaching me? Will I look to Him for strength or try to power through on my own?
I've been reading 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers and the following section really stood out to me the other day:
"How do we often pray? We plead for victory when Christ is in us as our more-than -conquering life. We beg for the Holy Spirit as though He were not already indwelling us, as though He were not yearning for our consent to fill and control us and produce His fruit in our lives. We pray for spiritual and emotional resources as though they were external bonuses. We forget that they are part of our birthright in Christ, for in Him God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, with everything we need for life and godliness (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3). We cry to the Lord to give us things that we already have because He is in us. He says, "I am the bread of life, the water of life, the light of life; I am the way, I am the truth, I am the resurrection and the life - I am what you need" (John 6:35; 7:37; 8:12; 14;6; 11:25).
He wants us to reply, 'Thank you, Lord, You are! You are my sufficiency this moment, this hour, this day. I'm counting on Your life in me - Your love and patience, Your gentleness and guidance and power - to meet my needs and overflow to others.'
When we praise with thanksgiving, we deepen our experience of Christ in us as our Source. He constantly fills us and replenishes our resources as we give ourselves in loving service to other people.'"
I don't know about you but I need to be filled and replenished often! I want what pours out of me to be Christ's love and gentleness towards my family, friends, and strangers. Will you join me in making this your prayer this week?
