Dear Momma: He Is Loving, Faithful and Gracious
How can I forget March 16, 2020. It was the first day both of my girls started home school because of the pandemic. They were actually happy to be home thinking it would be for a short time. I had a perfect schedule that I created which I saved in my notes section of my IPhone: 8:30am breakfast, 9am movement, 9:45am reading, 10:30am quiet time etc… The schedule went well the first two weeks but when week three approached, I had already erased it and was ready to give up. What wasn’t included in the lovely schedule were the amounts of food I would cook each day, encountering the struggles of my youngest lacking interest in school work, attempting to provide therapy to children virtually for work, being a source of comfort to my pre-teen who missed her friends and finding quality time to spend with my husband. Each day became tedious to me and I didn’t want to do any of it anymore. But with so many mothers who were probably facing the same issues during this daunting season, why should I complain? Shouldn’t I just keep pushing?
“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
These past few weeks I’ve been reading through Psalms and verse 15 of chapter 86 has been helping me deal and manage the new routines in my household. I couldn’t help but to look at the words “abounding”, “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” over and over again. Saying, repeating, and reading these words out loud have reminded me of three things.
God is faithful even when things become too much to handle. He has promised His children that He will never leave them which I’ve held close to my heart these past few weeks (Hebrews 13:5). When I’m feeling exhausted from making meals and question if I’m a good mother because this is a task that I should want to do for my family, I know I can pause and be reminded of the God that I can bring my anxieties to because He loves and cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).
God’s love reminds me of how much love I need to show to the ones I love. Simple, but sometimes it’s hard to do. His love is effortless. He doesn’t hold any grudges or keep track of our wrongdoings and present them to us out of spite. That’s very intimidating and hard to follow, but His love is what I strive to show to others and even myself. When I become frustrated with my spouse out of response to my 4 year old’s tantrums or the uncertainty of work, I’m reminded of God's love and how He is slow to anger. I’m reminded of how I need to love the way He has loved me (John 15:12).
The insurmountable amount of favor God extends to me each day helps me to show grace to others.
When Jesus took all of our sins and died on the cross, we were forgiven (1 Peter 2:24). The grace He gives us daily shows me how I need to extend grace to the ones I love, especially to those in my household. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us and each day when I get up, I have an opportunity to say thank you by being a reflection of Him. I can be gentle and kind with my words when I’m speaking with my children. I can display empathy towards my husband when he shares how stressful his day has been. I always have an opportunity to remind myself that my God is loving, faithful, and gracious and He will always take care of me.