On Cheerios, Failure, and Widows Who Give Their Everything
My house had been a mess.
And I don’t mean mess like we are in junior high listening to the skinniest girl in the group complain about how she feels fat today. I mean mess. As in cheerios had been everywhere. As in my son’s favorite pastime is pulling folded laundry off the chair and throwing it all over the living room. As in my daughter squeezed a tube of concealer onto my carpet, and I was so overwhelmed that I just threw a blanket over it until I could emotionally handle the effort it was going to take to remove the stain. As in momma had been off her feet for the day and daddy did a great job of watching the kids (and only watching the kids)… {I am pretty sure you are getting the idea, but, trust me, I could go on.}
It took a few days to get the house back to its semi-ordered state. I may have even started crying when my kids got up from their nap, and the floors still hadn't been mopped {and I may have even said something along the lines of: “Why?! Why can’t I just have clean floors even if it only lasts for 5 minutes?!”}.
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t walk through that house feeling like an absolute failure. There was an all-out war being waged on my mind to compare myself to other homemakers; to wallow in the woe-is-me’s; to yell at my kids who, true to their almost-2 and almost-5 natures, continued to make messes whether I stopped to clean or not. I kind of wanted to throw the blankets over my head and hope somehow when I emerged life would magically let me be all caught up.
Please tell me I am not the only one who has been here.
“And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus,but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on’.” Mark 12:41-44
Can I share the sweet words I heard Jesus speak to me in this?
Daughter, I see you. I see how you are tired, how you aren’t getting enough sleep, how you feel like you accomplish nothing. I see the way you feel energy-poor, the way you struggle to find a routine. I see you clean a mess while a new mess is getting made. I see the way you think you are falling behind. I see you.
And I see the way that you give out of your lack. The way you keep pushing, the way you stop what you are doing to love on those babies, the way you point them to Me. You might think you gave Me great things when you were younger and had an abundance of time and energy. But I say your contribution here and now amongst cheerios and dirty diapers is greater. You once gave the things that you were most proud of—the things you were most able to accomplish well, the things that didn't require as much of My help. Now you give out of humility and obedience and sacrifice because I ask it of you.
You give out of your lack. And it is good. And I am here. And my Grace is sufficient.
I am proud of your offering.
In case you were wondering: Yes. There were tears writing this. No. I do not have it all together. Yes. I need as much encouragement as you do. No. My house is not extra clean, nor am I extra put together because I have a blog (in fact, I would argue my put-together-ness is probably worse for it, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.)
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28
So, have you ever felt depleted of time and energy and like you were failing? How did you push through?
By Grace,