My family and I are in the middle of a very busy season. My oldest has just started high school and suddenly the kid who used to be happy at home playing with Legos and hot wheels has decided that he needs to be strong, tough, and ripped. Much to my vexation, he is playing JV football. So, in the midst of working full time, mothering two children in very different stages, being a wife, and doing ministry, I am now adding practice pick-ups and Thursday night football games to an already full schedule. This means well-ingrained routines must shift and chores that used to get done before dinner, now sit because practice runs late.
After a few short weeks, I was tired. So, so, tired. All of the running, planning, adjusting and simple parenting had left me drained. Life has a way of doing that to us. No matter what age or stage, as women, we are often workers. Many times, we are the backbone of the home and the workplace…always keeping things running smoothly.
One Saturday morning, I went out to my back porch, Bible and journal in hand, and began to seek the Lord. I needed insight for this season. I needed direction and wisdom for how to navigate days that felt too long and too full.
The Lord took me to Matthew 7:7-11.
Just ask and it will be given to you; Seek after it and you will find.
Continue to knock and the door will be opened for you.
All who ask receive. Those who seek, find what they seek.
And he who knocks will have the door opened.
Think of it this way: if your son asked you for bread, would you give him a stone?
Of course not–you would give him a loaf of bread.
If your son asked for a fish, would you give him a snake?
No, to be sure, you would give him a fish–the best fish you could find.
So if you who are sinful, know how to give your children good gifts,
How much more so does your Father in heaven, who is perfect,
Know how to give great gifts to His children.
As I sat with the Lord, I was reminded that His desire is to give good, no, great gifts, even in the midst of a busy season. He wants to give gifts that are useful, pleasant and joyful.
As I sat pondering this, my mind began to shift to my blessings rather than my cares. I thought of the stillness of the morning, with only the sound of birds disrupting the silence. The beauty of the cloudless blue sky. The friends who I would join in celebrating a sweet birthday later that morning. The family that was beginning to gather at the breakfast table. My husband, who did the work of preparing the meal that morning.
Suddenly, I didn’t feel so overwhelmed and tired anymore. Instead, I began to see that even in this season, God was present. Routines may be shifting, but He was not. His presence was there and so were His blessings.
As the busy days have continued to come, I find myself asking the Lord to show me how to navigate them. I ask Him to reveal the method for getting through the day, for shifting the chores, for arranging the schedule, and transporting everyone to where they need to be. I find myself leaning into Him, rather than lamenting the calendar.
So, when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, run down, and weary, ask the Father: what good gifts have you given that I need to remember today? Then allow Him to turn your eyes from burdens to blessings.
-Liz Cox