I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.
Isaiah 49:16
You know, life is strange. Moms. Women. Whoever you are, wherever you are. Whatever daily life looks like for us – the biggest part of our job is to “hold it together.” That seems to be our common calling in life – hold the line. Keep yourself together – your home together – your kids and family together. Think ahead, prepare for what’s coming, meet the needs, don’t flounder. Get it right. Do your job well. Keep all those plates spinning and don’t let one thing drop!
We wake up in the morning, drag ourselves to the coffee pot, and get ready for the day. We don’t know exactly what we will face, though we’ve made our to-do lists and checked our calendar. We may have laid out our clothes for the day – prepped our meals – made sure our kids had everything they needed. We’ve got a handle on it.
Then, inevitably, life happens. The baby wakes up with a fever – we forgot it was our child’s turn to bring snacks today – the middle child has a screaming fit because they don’t want to wear that!!! The car won’t start, I-spilled-coffee-on-my-blouse, there’s a wreck on the highway, this child will not cooperate, that child forgot his lunch and needs you to take it to the school…
It never stops.
At other times, when circumstances are more dire, those are the things we WISH we had to deal with. For some, there are days when there is not enough money to move, let alone make any choices. When life has left you “broke with all these kids”… it can be a tight-rope walk to keep it together and not take our struggles out on them. It’s a fight not to lose our minds in general.
What do we do? We keep walking. What choice do we have? We keep moving forward. We might go ahead and vent our frustrations at little Johnny for coloring on the walls… again… but we end up taking that long deep breath whispering, “oh Jesus, give me strength.” Then we get our kids lined up at the table, fed whatever good hot meal we have available, and figure out what to do next.
Trina’s Story: A long time ago, a friend from our former church fell on hard times, and she and her four young children ended up in a homeless shelter. We knew she needed a chance to re-start, so we brought them to our house to live with us for four months. We got the kids into a local school and daycare center, and Trina went to school to become a Certified Nurses’ Assistant (CNA). It was a hard road, but she was a fighter! She finished her course, got a job at a local nursing home, saved up her money, and moved back into her own apartment! We were connected with local non-profits at the time, so we were able to find beds and furnishings for her apartment at no cost. It was a difficult season, but with God’s help, she was able to stand on her own two feet once again.
During the time when Trina was with us, there were some very hard days. Class was hard, things looked bleak, kids were fighting amongst themselves. One night in particular… which I will never forget… with not one thing in life going her way, frustrated and ready to figuratively strangle every one of her four “bad” behaving kids, Mom (Trina) suddenly stopped the chaos going on around her, and said WE ARE NOT DOING THIS TONIGHT!!! Seemingly in the blink of an eye, she took hold of the situation, got her kids clean, fed, and quieted down… and then internally turned herself around (mentally, spiritually) and read a sweet book to them. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by her children, she told a funny story while gently braiding her young daughter’s hair. Then she read her Bible to them and prayed, teaching them how to pray, as well. In that one evening, because the Lord was her strength in the midst of devastating times, she was able to give the whole world to her children even though she was frayed around the edges and coming apart at the seams.
The strength of a woman’s heart amazes me, especially when I witness the actions of heroic mamas like Trina turning all of life’s lemons into lemonade and lemon pies and sweet lemon cookie bars sprinkled with powdered sugar. She would often say, “There are no victims in this house. We’re making it no matter what.” I love that.
In all of our circumstances – when each woman’s life is unique – we have one thing in common. We are not alone. We might not see it, we might not feel it, we might not even believe it, but that is most certainly the truth. We may not always have people, but we always have Jesus. If we are His, He will never leave us or forget about us. He holds us in the palm of His hand.
But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.
Isaiah 49:14-16 ESV
We so often push God to the edge of our lives. We were trained, or have trained ourselves, to hold it all together. We say, “I can do this!” and we so often can, but when we are living out of nothing but our own strength, our lives can become a sinking ship.
Some of our religious upbringing has incorrectly taught us that God only helps those who help themselves. We once heard someone incorrectly say that God won’t give you more than you can handle – incorrect in more than one way. We were raised up with phrases like “get yourself together,” “grow up,” and “you can do it!”
When our best efforts fail, as is likely to happen from time to time, some have been fortunate enough to realize that we have no strength without the Lord. There is no fight we can truly win if He is not fighting on our behalf. If He is not going, we don’t want to go either. The truth is that we can’t do it alone, and He’s NOT ASKING us to.
O God, we have heard it with our own ears—our ancestors have told us of all You did in their day, in days long ago: 2 You drove out the pagan nations by Your power and gave all the land to our ancestors. You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free.
Psalm 44:1-3 NLT
3 They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was Your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from Your face that helped them, for You loved them.
Come to the middle of me. That has been my prayer. Come to the middle of every situation. Forgive me for pushing You to the edge of my life and thinking I can do this on my own. Come to the middle and show me the way. With my marriage, my kids, my job, my life… come to the middle. Be in the center.
His Word tells us to “seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matt 6:33). It tells us to “be still and know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10) It says, “DO NOT be anxious about ANYTHING, but PRAY about EVERYTHING” (Phil 4:6), and “DO NOT fear for I AM WITH YOU” (Isaiah 41:10). It says to put on His armor, and use His weapons, and then stand still and watch Him work (Ephesians 6).
Jesus wants to be your center. He wants to be in the middle of every part of your life. Why? Because His way is better. His way… His true way… the truth of His Word and not what our religious traditions have taught us… brings life, peace, joy in the midst of all circumstances. He brings “peace that passes all understanding” (Phil 4:7).
Whatever you’re facing today – whatever your kids and family are facing – it will only take one tiny grain of faith to open the door to the Lord and ask Him to come to the middle. “Come to the middle of me, Lord. Come to the middle of this circumstance… to the middle of my life.” Forget all those times you were self-sufficient and worked it out on your own. Don’t push Him to the edge. He’s not mad at you, or frustrated with you. There’s no reason to hide or run from Him. His patience, grace, and mercy are perfect. His thoughts about you are loving and forgiving. His banner over you is LOVE.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
If you can believe that He is for you – If you can trust Him for a moment – If you can muster up the courage to go down a different road… that’s the beginning of faith, and that makes God smile. Ask Him to come to the center. That’s where He wants to be.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20
Broken & Sown 