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A Day In My Not So Crazy Life

Daily (and sometimes hourly) Surrender

Recently, I have been battling fear. I blame this mostly on my habit of reading the online news. Terrorists seem to be lurking in every corner of the earth, causing my heart to fear. Fear of my children being orphaned, fear of losing my husband and children, and the list goes on and on…I honestly have been overwhelmed some days.

Moving was a HUGE step of faith for me since I never dreamed of a life overseas. In fact, just imagining living overseas was in my mind, a nightmare! However, once we actually did move across the ocean, I was mistakenly pretty confident that I had already laid many of these fears to rest.  But suddenly, just reading the newest headline caused my heart to give in to fear once again!

After sharing my recent struggles with a good friend and my wise husband, I have decided to stop reading the news for now. Instead, I have been reading my Bible more and have been offering my fears up to the Lord. Sometimes this requires me to daily offer my family up to our Father, but other days, it is an hourly surrender.

When I read through scripture, I see the Lord exhorting Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

I honestly wonder if a horrific circumstance was before ever me, could I confidently stand like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and say, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if He does not, we want you to know O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3: 17-18)

Men in the Bible had fears, but fear did not hinder them from obeying God. Abraham feared the Egyptians, so he lied about his wife being his sister. Moses feared leading the Hebrews, so God let him take Aaron along. Esther probably had fear approaching the king, which may be why she initially sent such a hesitant reply to Mordecai. Even though these men and women feared, they did not let their fear paralyze them. Instead, they found their strength in God. Surprisingly, we can find many more examples of biblical heroes struggling with fear.

I have concluded that at the end of the day, all I can do is find the courage to give my fears to our kind Father. He has faithfully guided me my whole life and He can faithfully lead me now. Since the future is out of my control, my prayer for myself, my family, and for all of you reading, is one that Jesus prayed in Luke 22:32, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.”

Whatever you may be struggling with today, I encourage you to turn to the Father, courageously be faithful to His calling, and surrender whatever you are holding on to. May we all find strength in our faithful Father this day…and every day.

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An encouragement to moms with toddlers

Many people compliment my husband and I and say, “How do you have such well-behaved children?”

My response is often, ” No…we have 4 pretty well-behaved kids and a 2 year old!”

* * * * * * * * *

We were married when I was 23.  I turned 23 in December, got married in January, and had our first son in October.  Then, I turned 24;)  We had our 2nd son just 16 months after our first.  But even crazier than this is that we had our 3rd son when our first was just 2.5 years old!  For a crazy period of time, I had a 2 year old, a 1 year old, and a newborn!  Those who knew me back then, know that I was a very insecure, sleep deprived woman.

Having toddlers can be a challenging experience.  It is really difficult when your kids are having multiple temper-tantrums throughout the day and you have no idea what to do!  It is even harder when you are comparing yourself to other moms and their well-behaved kids (I often fell into this trap).  I just want to encourage moms of toddlers to keep going, keep praying, keep loving, keep training/disciplining and one day you will see the fruit of your labor.

My kids are now 12, 11, 9, 7, and 2.  I look at my 4 older kids today and I am amazed at how they have matured.  The kids that used to throw major tantrums in their toddlerhood now take such good care of ME.  In the past, I was doing everything for these precious little ones and it was hard work.  I was exhausted every day.  Older moms would say, “Cherish these days because they grow up so fast!”  I did not believe them.  But sure enough, that wondrous “day” arrived and now my kids are pretty independent.  They do most of their homeschool work on their own, they play with each other kindly (90% of the time), they do the dishes and clean up after meals, they fold and put away their own laundry, and much more.

A lesson our Father has taught me over these 12 years of motherhood is that time really does fly by and I do need to cherish these days. Having the 4 older kids has helped my perspective with our youngest child.  She is joyful, hilarious, and strong willed.  In the past, my kids’ temper tantrums would throw me into a stressed, overwhelmed state.  Now when our baby is throwing her tantrums, I laugh and feel thankful.  I am thankful that the Father gave me this 2 year old spunky treasure and I look at my older kids and feel peace knowing that this too shall pass.

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