His Love Overcomes All
Staying at home full-time with our children has its challenges. Readjusting to their demands and recognizing that everyday we will have blow-ups and misunderstandings at least once helps me to be realistic about my expectations but also to balance my need for breaks and time to fill myself back up again. This is definitely marathon work, it is not a sprint and definitely not a one-time event. Every morning that I wake up, I do get to start over again, but somedays the time also builds and builds on itself making it harder and harder to get up and want to face the day.
So, Sunday is Mother's Day and while I am thinking about what it means to be a mother, my reading for today was 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, which is a chapter about love. As I read it, I immediately thought about being a parent, and for me, specifically a mother. I inserted some of my thoughts into verses 1-7 to include a parent's perspective, making it more personal and applicable for me. I am not saying this is God's spoken word, but it is what I thought of when I read it, here goes...
The love that God gives me for our children is patient and kind, even when they do not chose to love me that way. It does not demand my own way, even when I don't want to make them another meal or clean another dish! It is not irritable, it doesn't lose its cool at the end of the day or start to yell when it gets tired. And it keeps no record of being wronged, even though the parents versus children score would obviously be in my favor! It doesn't rejoice about injustice, venting about the day's mishaps to another adult because it feels good talking to a sane person. But it rejoices whenever the truth wins out, finding the exceptions when our children do the right thing and love each other well. This kind of love never gives up, it doesn't leave physically or emotionally when the going gets tough. It never loses faith, it keeps believing that each day holds new possibilities. It is always hopeful, not stuck in despair or negativity, even though it's okay to have a bad day. It endures through every circumstance, even those that are unimaginable, those that are tragic and devastating; His kind of love overcomes all.
I am thankful that I am not in this alone. I certainly have a great spouse and life partner to help me parent our children. But, more than that, I have Jesus and honestly, I couldn't do it without him. I need his help everyday, I need his encouragement to keep going and to do it well. Being reminded that love is what counts, even more than anything else that we can ever do or accomplish, encourages me that just simply loving our children, and letting Jesus love them through me, is really all I need to do as a parent.
Happy Mother's Day moms and grandmothers out there, it's a big deal to be a parent and certainly a challenging task. But it's worth it and our children are worth it and it's okay not to be able to do it alone. We weren't meant to. We need Someone who is greater than us, we need someone whose love doesn't run out and doesn't give up. Thankfully we have that in the person of Jesus Christ.
So, Sunday is Mother's Day and while I am thinking about what it means to be a mother, my reading for today was 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, which is a chapter about love. As I read it, I immediately thought about being a parent, and for me, specifically a mother. I inserted some of my thoughts into verses 1-7 to include a parent's perspective, making it more personal and applicable for me. I am not saying this is God's spoken word, but it is what I thought of when I read it, here goes...
The love that God gives me for our children is patient and kind, even when they do not chose to love me that way. It does not demand my own way, even when I don't want to make them another meal or clean another dish! It is not irritable, it doesn't lose its cool at the end of the day or start to yell when it gets tired. And it keeps no record of being wronged, even though the parents versus children score would obviously be in my favor! It doesn't rejoice about injustice, venting about the day's mishaps to another adult because it feels good talking to a sane person. But it rejoices whenever the truth wins out, finding the exceptions when our children do the right thing and love each other well. This kind of love never gives up, it doesn't leave physically or emotionally when the going gets tough. It never loses faith, it keeps believing that each day holds new possibilities. It is always hopeful, not stuck in despair or negativity, even though it's okay to have a bad day. It endures through every circumstance, even those that are unimaginable, those that are tragic and devastating; His kind of love overcomes all.
I am thankful that I am not in this alone. I certainly have a great spouse and life partner to help me parent our children. But, more than that, I have Jesus and honestly, I couldn't do it without him. I need his help everyday, I need his encouragement to keep going and to do it well. Being reminded that love is what counts, even more than anything else that we can ever do or accomplish, encourages me that just simply loving our children, and letting Jesus love them through me, is really all I need to do as a parent.
Happy Mother's Day moms and grandmothers out there, it's a big deal to be a parent and certainly a challenging task. But it's worth it and our children are worth it and it's okay not to be able to do it alone. We weren't meant to. We need Someone who is greater than us, we need someone whose love doesn't run out and doesn't give up. Thankfully we have that in the person of Jesus Christ.
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