Dearest Friend,
Yesterday, as I stood staring at myself in the mirror, I
could clearly see the different marks of Motherhood that graced my face.
Mascara smeared across each cheek, small dark circles had
found their place beneath my eyes, and my hair, normally curled with a good
amount of volume was flat and sadly limp.
Oddly enough, this sight brought a great deal of joy to my
heart.
I am in the trenches! In the thick of an all consuming
mission, and these ‘battle wounds’ say that I’m fighting, working hard and
rising to the challenge of a lifetime!
It’s incredibly overwhelming and has the potential to be defeating,
or absolutely empowering.
The role of a Mother is not one to take lightly. We live,
breath, eat and sleep around the world of our children.
We strive to raise a new generation; one better than the
last, and there isn’t a set guidebook in doing so. We’re going off of
intuition, off of the way we were raised, and soaking in wisdom from those who
have gone before us, tweaking things just a bit here and there as we see fit.
These last couple months have put my character to the test.
Do I have what it takes? Will I make the cut? Oh wait! I don’t have a choice…
and that is for me, where I muster up strength and find the courage to face
each day.
God has given this to me. He believes in me and trusts that
I can handle it.
Luckily, He doesn’t leave me high and dry. Instead, He is
ever present and it is to Him alone that I cling.
From the Lord flows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I need every single one
of these to fill me on a daily basis, for I know that the absence of them
brings misery.
In raising children, as well as in my marriage, I must rely
on God to show me how to do things appropriately.
Gosh, I want to be such a loving and selfless Mother. And I
also want to be a compassionate and joyful Wife.
Those times in life, where what’s before us seams rather
daunting and we struggle to find the endurance to carry on, we must go back to
God. From the moment any task, mission or challenge presents itself to us, we have
to start off with God as our primary source of strength.
Sadly, it’s not always our first thought to turn to Him. And
if you’re anything like me, you’ll quickly find your stamina running dry when
you attempt to walk forward without His presence…
Over time, I have found little ways to place myself in a
situation of continual reliance upon the Lord, and that’s what I wanted to
share with you today.
1.
Sing! All day, everyday. Sing songs of love and
of undying devotion to the God who so magically created you.
2.
Pray! All day, everyday. Talk to Him. Out loud.
In the car, while doing dishes, and within the quiet of your heart while
sitting with friends.
3.
Praise! All day, everyday. While you pray,
praise God for every single tiny little blessing!! For ‘every good and perfect
gift is from above’.
I wasn’t made to live without Him, and neither were you…
When I spend my time talking to Him, singing to Him and thanking Him for my
life, the world begins to find a pleasant balance… All is as it should be.
My children will cry, and waves of frustration will sweep
through my being at times… but it’s easy to push past the breakers and swim
again in the calm of it all when God is stability.
Let Him be your Rock, and watch what happens. See how much
farther you’ll go.
… Honestly, in writing to you, I’m beginning to see
different areas of my own life that need to be surrendered to God. Primarily
within my marriage as it’s been shocked into a world of new babies and new
routine… The Hubs and I are not in a place of familiarity, and I could really
use the Lords help in learning how to be the best Wife to him these days…
So that’s where I’m headed, to spend time drawing near to
God and asking for His help. He has called me into this relationship, blessed
me with the role of Wife, and is full of awesome wisdom as to how to thrive
here.
I will return soon, and write to you once again.
Sincerely,
Amber Dawn
-image via amber
