Being a parent can be t.o.u.g.h.
Because we love our kids so deeply, we take our parent-fails pretty seriously. And I should know because I seem to make plenty of parenting blunders. It has something to do with my being...uhh...human. I mean, I'm so flawed. To top it all off, I'm raising...uhhh... a bunch more flawed humans! I don't handle things perfectly and then they don't handle my not handling things. It's not always pretty over here.
So many times throughout my years as a mother I have felt overwhelmed with responsibilities, pressured by too many activities, and weary from my frequent mom-fails. Yikes, getting personal in a blog is kind of scary!
But, I do have some good news! Did you know that the Bible has many passages of scripture written directly to parents? It's my top source for encouragement, motivation, and inspiration.
I'd like to share my favorite passage with you in hopes that it will bring a fresh reminder to you of the promises that God has given to parents. Deuteronomy 30 has some great word pictures. It's a poetic and emotional call to parental arms by our Heavenly Father. This passage never fails to bring me back to the importance of motherhood. God has spoken words for you in the midst of the overwhelmed and TIRED. I hope it encourages you as much as it does me!
Dueteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV) "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess...This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him For the Lord is your life..."
Did you read that?! God and His solutions are not far across the ocean or any other far off place! No, He has written His word on your heart and He is your life!
My prayer is that God will use this passage to inspire you as a parent to lean in to Him, for your family's sake because He is the only way to really live!