One of my
favorite projects, this year, has been writing “The Mommy Letters” . . . I
don’t write them every day, but I write them whenever I can. Sometimes it’s a letter to just Brooklyn, or
just Charlotte . . . Sometimes it’s a letter written to all 4 of the girls. . .
But it has ended up being much like journal entries, describing what is
happening each month, in our lives, and telling them about their strengths and
weaknesses, and their latest accomplishments.
Each one of us
has our strengths and our weaknesses. And then, there is our personal health to
add to the daily equation, as well. There
are entire DAYS, or even MONTHS, where you just feel WEAK. Some days you’re dealing with hour-by-hour
waves of “morning sickness”, while still trying to keep up with the rest of your
“crew”. Some days your children are
quite sick, and you’re sick, right along with them. And, most of the time, your husband can’t
stay home to help you – the duty of the job still calls. And so does yours . . .
It has often been
said, “The Lord won’t give you more than you can handle.” Yet, I have also heard, “Yes, He sometimes
DOES give you more than YOU can handle, because it is something that HE can
handle!” Some days, He wants us on our
knees, humbly crying out to Him, “I can’t do this on my own! I need THY
strength, O Lord!” One of my favorite “verse phrases” to cling to, in the last
couple of months, has been Psalm 84:7 “They go from strength to strength . .
.” When Hubby has a 12-hour work shift,
the Wife’s strength comes from her God! On the days when Mom has to take all
the children with her to one baby’s doctor appointment, Mommy’s strength comes
from her God! “How do you do it?!”
people will ask. We “go from strength to
strength.” Strength for today; strength for tomorrow. Psalm 80:17 says, “ . . . whom thou madest
strong for thyself.” When GOD’S
strength is required in our lives, it brings GOD glory! It is a BLESSED place, when we find ourselves
needing the Lord! Psalm 84:5 “Blessed
is the man whose strength is in thee . . .”
And the beautiful thing about God’s strength is, it never runs out! Psalm 71:3 “Be thou my strong habitation,
whereunto I may continually resort .
. .”
Sometimes we go
through whole periods or stages of
our lives where we need God’s strength . . . When I look ahead to adding Baby
#5 to our home and to heading out on deputation as missionaries, that is what I
see. A whole stage of life requiring
God’s strength. You see, one of “my
verses” from the Lord, regarding the country of Indonesia, has to do with God’s
strength: “I will go in the
strength of the Lord GOD . . .” (Psalm 71:16) I know I can’t do it on my
own - “ . . . I will make mention of thy
righteousness, even of thine only.” And
then, the Lord receives the glory!
It is a rather
crazy thing to haul five little ones around the country, raising support, so
your family can live as missionaries, overseas.
Most churches don’t vote to pay your electric bill or your van payment,
every month. Some can only write you a
one-time “love offering” check, or send you $25 a month . . . The process of
raising funds “to GO” is a very lengthy one.
No, we can’t prepare our children for all that deputation is going to
bring them – the 7-hour car rides, the frequent McDonald’s “Value Meals”, the
lack of familiar faces, and the constant change in church nursery workers . . .
But we “will go in the strength of the Lord GOD”. We know that He will help our Little Ones
find peace along this journey, as well! Psalm 71:18 “ . . . until I have shewed
thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to
come.”
Having God’s
strength is “The BLESSED Life” – for Mommies, their husbands, and their
children. Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly
rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”
But, “Can God really
give ME strength?”, you might ask . . . This day is just too much for me to
handle! This LIFE is just too much for
me to handle! Psalm 29:11 has God’s answer: “The
LORD will give strength unto his
people; the LORD will bless his
people with peace.” It is His PROMISE to
us! All you need do is ask Him! Psalm 18:30+32 “As for God, his way is perfect . . . It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.”
May we wake up in
the morning, Dear Mommies, and fall on our knees, to ask the Lord for HIS help
to get through our day! We can pray with
the Psalmist David, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1)
And so another day of God's blessings will begin . . .
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