Keep On Keepin' On...

It's been a long dry spell between posts for me. Many different factors have played into the reasoning for it, but as of late I have begun to have that buzz inside me that is just calling me to write - that tingling inside my stomach, almost like butterflies that need to be set free...and certainly not because I think I have anything of any worth to say on my own. I know far too well that anything that comes from my own wicked heart is just mush. And inevitably, because I am not writing canon of Scripture (that was taken care of thousands of years ago!), whatever I write will be stained with my own messed up humanity...but I still feel led to invest whatever part of me I can for the glory of God & let Him redeem it as only He is able. (As a side, I want to just encourage all believers out there to put to use whatever gifts the Lord has given you, regardless of if you feel adequate to do so. Let's not be found guilty of burying the gifts with which He has entrusted us upon His return, much like the wicked servant in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-28).

As a mama of 3 little bitties, I am learning more & more just how much my children were sent to teach me, & not so much the other way around. Yes, I am called by God's grace to diligently teach and train up my kids in the Word and ways of God. But, oh, how profoundly God has used my sweet kids to bring to light just how desperately I need the power of Christ in my everyday life! I do not think there is anything in my experience that God could have used so powerfully as parenthood to illuminate my utter weakness and dependency on Him for every waking moment.

Quite honestly, each day - in fact, each moment of each day - is a struggle to lay down my own selfishness for the sake of serving my kids. Some times, when I am walking in the power of the Spirit, I succeed. Often, when I let my flesh lead, I fail miserably. But what I am learning (again, by God's sweet grace), is that I need to come to understand that failure is a fact of life - it is an inevitable by-product of being born into the human race. However, the good news is, as a believer who is filled with the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, I do not have to accept failure as a way of life (Romans 8:11). Even though there are days when I have blown it as a parent (or just as a person in general!), I do not have to throw in the towel. I can get up in the morning, comforted by the fact that God's mercies are new each day. Praise God that,

"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

- Lamentations 3:22-23