As I’m certain all of you know by now, life is, well . . . hard.
Busy. Hectic. Stressful. Exhausting.
There are countless distractions that steal my time and my
focus away from my Source. And often enough, my Source starts to feel like a
side dish, and then maybe a dessert, or just an occasional splurge. It’s much
more difficult to notice just a pound or two. Most often it’s only when you’re
completely out of shape that you start to realize how horrendous your diet has
become.
As a mother of two wild-child toddlers, most days when I
catch my reflection in the mirror I have one of those “Whoa!” moments. As in
“Whoa, sister, what the heck happened to you? You used to be kinda cute and,
well, skinny, with unlined skin and an almost perpetual grin.
When did I lose my focus? When did I become complacent? How
did I get so out of shape?
With everything in me I want
to be desperate for God. But am I? And how, with the kids and the bills, and a
marriage, and relationships, and writing, and blogging, and facebook, and
church, and missions, and . . . (you get the idea), do I find time to indulge
in Him?
In my heart I’m not trying to simply perform or look good on
paper so that others might commend my holiness. Ick! Even just thinking that
makes me all itchy with the hypocrisy of it all. Legalism. Empty works. Going
through the motions.
That is not how I want to glorify the God that is my very
breath. The God who has blessed me with this wonderfully exhausting home and
family. The God who has never abandoned me even in my darkest, desert nights.
So why do I feel like a snail wiggling inch by inch up an
endlessly long and treacherous mountain when, in reality, I know that I will
never reach that ideal peak. There is no perfection to be had here. There is no
earthy destination where I will have done everything God has for me to do and
then I can just dust off my hands, kick up my feet, and wait to see his Glory
face-to-face.
Since my efforts very often fall short and leave me filled with
frustration, am I bringing Him any glory at all?
A few weeks ago at church my uber-awesome Pastor said
something that stuck all over me like winter static. He said:
God is most glorified in you when you are satisfied in
Him.
Man, it really got me thinking . . . Am I satisfied? My life is great, but
am I so caught up in my daily struggles that I’m left wanting more without the
energy to even cry out for it?
This profound thought has been tooling around in my brain
for a few weeks, and yet, I'm not convinced I know how to be fully satisfied with
where I am at. Every day is a battle. From the unique struggles that we are
facing with our children, to the constant financial battle of getting ahead, and the challenges
of my husbands dreadful job, I feel like we are simply pushing through the junk
in hopes of the day when things won't be quite so difficult.
But that really just means that we are missing out on what
God is trying to teach us right now. Missing out on time that we will never get
back. And failing to see that regardless of our circumstances, we are called by
God to be a light today. To show his love, joy, grace, and compassion today. To
seek him with everything we have, not tomorrow, or when life finally settles
down (as if that will ever happen), but TODAY.
What do people see when they look at me? Do they see the
snot-crusted mommy who hasn’t had a good nights sleep in almost four years? Or
do they see a joyful servant of the Most High, blessed beyond belief and satisfied
with the God that is always more than enough?
What about you? Are you shining with His Glory? Or are you
so worn out that you can’t even reflect His goodness?
Regardless of your struggles, are you satisfied?
