The other day I was at a birthday party with my boys and while they were happily enjoying pizza and cake, I began chatting with another mom.
We talked about our kids and then I asked her to tell me the story of how she met her husband. She spoke so sweetly about her man and went on to say what an amazing dad he is.
I asked her if she and her husband wanted to have any more children and she said, “Well, we have been trying but that just hasn’t worked out for us.”
My heart squeezed. I know all about infertility. It was 4 years before God gave us the Happy Buddy.
I said, “Girl, I am so sorry. That is so hard.”
And you know what she said?
“Yeah, it is, I guess. But I don’t like focusing on it because I don’t want it to seem that we are not thankful for what we have.”
She gestured to her adorable son who had cake icing and crumbs all around his mouth.
“He’s so great,” she said with a smile, “He’s enough.”
As we were driving home from the party I couldn’t stop thinking about her words.
I feel like I have become a very fussy person in the last couple of years.
At least in my heart, I know I have.
Whenever something difficult crosses my path (which is about 700 times a day) I find myself muttering, “UGH! Really God??? This is SO hard!”
I humbly confess to you that in the most private pockets of my heart I think I have this prideful attitude that feels I have been through enough hard things and deserve some kind of break or period of ease.
Ha!!
Life is not that way, is it?
There are still lunches to pack, kids to discipline and train, a husband to love and serve well, dinner to make, laundry to fold, toilets to scrub (oh wait, I don’t do that)… There are still ants procreating in my car, bills to pay, my full-time job, sick kids, and the burdening business of figuring out how to reduce the size of my pores.
There’s still that UTI that came upon me suddenly while on my church’s women’s retreat and then the stomach bug that came only 2 weeks later.
There’s still that thyroid problem I have to deal with for the rest of my life.
Ah, but this precious woman’s words rang in my heart like the final chord of the worship team at church on Sunday.
Focusing on the hard of our day can close our eyes to all the good.
Yes, life is hard. No doubt about that.
But I have to ask God for eyes to see.
Eyes to see that I HAVE KIDS. 2 precious ones. Oh, raising them is no picnic and they make me frequently mentally escape to private islands in the Bahamas, but they give me purpose and joy every morning.
Eyes to see that my job, while it is a different life than the one I had as a SAHM, it is still a good one. I am able to see my kids and my husband throughout the day. I am able to relieve my sweet, hard-working husband of financial stress.
Eyes to see my messy house as a place that is a reflection of a full and busy life being lived with people that I love.
Eyes to see that those $4.99 rotisseries from Costco are the blessed answer for those nights when I am mentally and physically unable to make sense of a recipe card.
Eyes to see that a persistent thyroid issue is simply another reminder to fix my gaze on Christ and the perfection and glory and hope of heaven.
Thank you, God.
My favorite story in the Bible is from Acts 16.
Paul and Silas have just been stripped of their clothes, beaten with rods, and flogged because of the Truth they were sharing and the miracles they were performing in the name of Jesus.
They were then thrown in jail – to the furthest, most inner cell – and their feet were fastened in stocks.
{{At this point, my fussing about exceptionally large pores and ant problems seems KIND OF FRIVOLOUS.}}
Paul and Silas could have sighed and cried and hung their heads and complained about how hard it was to be follower of Christ.
But do you know what they did?
Verse 25 says at midnight – at the darkest hour, in the furthest cell – Paul and Silas began praying and singing hymns to God.
They weren’t focused on the hard.
They were focused on the GOD.
The God who had saved and rescued and comforted them time and time again.
The God who had given them {{given us}} His Word, His Presence, HIS SON.
The God who was and is absolutely enough. Even in the hard.
Can we focus on that? Can we stop grumbling about the things that we have been entrusted with and can we find something to sing about in the midst of it?
Like our little boy with the mouth full of cake.
And possibly a portable vacuum cleaner for my car.
🙂
Yes, thank you, God.
– Julie
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
*You can find the FREE Printable ‘We Are Thankful For You’ tags and delicious pumpkin bread recipe over at The Larson Lingo.
Thank uou for this post today, it was exactly what I needing reminding of. Sincerest thanks….
Thank you so much for this post. I too needed this reminder not to focus on the hard but in my God. So easy to let my self get in the way. So thank you! I’m going to keep my eyes looking up with a grateful heart.
Ps- I live in Marathon and have also had ants making a home in my car. Gotta love rainy season. It was driving me crazy! My friend told me about Terro liquid ant traps. They worked overnight. They are messy though so you probably want to put something under them. You can find them at Home Depot. Happy de-anting!! 😀
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This is a beautiful, heart rendering post. I am thankful that God let me stumble upon your blog early in my motherhood journey. You continually point me back to the Gospel and the greater, more eternal truths like an old friend would. Praying God opens your eyes to all you have to be grateful for and gives you peace and grace in the hard so that you are able to praise Him even more freely.
I’m not sure how I stumbled across your site, but I have been following it for maybe six months now. I can’t begin to tell you how you have blessed me with your posts. I wake up everyday with four wonderful kiddos and go to bed every night feeling like I fallen short. With no Christian support or anyone to talk to, you have really uplifted me and directed me with your words. I don’t know you personally and I don’t even know where you are from, but Thanks! I thank God I came across your blog!
Thank you. I’ve been having some problems of late with both my hubby and my own emotional issues. Thank you for reminding me to focus on God. It’s so easy for me to forget. You (or rather God) always reach out at the right time.
Julie i can’t thank you enough for your posts. Just made it through another day…God bless..
I was just reflecting on this the other day. A friend encouraged me to savor the happy moments throughout my busy days. Thanks for the reminder after a long day with my 3 big kids and one teething baby.
Thanks your posts are always a smile for my heart 🙂 Blessings to you!
Hang in there! Like it says in the song, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”
I am so, so there. It’s so easy to feel put-upon, burdened, and overwhelmed by what is actually just the life I’ve been given and the stage we’re in…and to complain about it instead of being grateful and getting my strength from the Lord. Working on eliminating the complaining and increasing the thanksgiving with you, friend! xo
The past three years we have been in the process of trying to adopt a baby from Ethiopia. Those years have left me with a hard heart. Last week I miscarried a baby. It has been hard, so very hard. I have found myself asking Him over and again WHY DOES IT ALL HAVE TO BE HARD? In all that pain I am starting to see Him more clearly. Speaking to Him more and turning to His word. He is giving me Jesus whispers. He put this post in front of me today. As I write this I am in tears and so so grateful for the little four year old boy sleeping in his bed cuddling his Hess truck. He is enough. If God wants me to have another He will. I can do nothing to make that happen. Thank you for this post. Thank you for being the conduit for Jesus today for me. I am grateful for you!
Beautiful post. I am so glad I found your blog.
I don’t typically leave comments or read many blogs but the way I ended up on your post was 100% God. I feel compelled to share this story…
My mom has been very sick for a couple of years now and I can see her starting to lose hope. I am the oldest daughter of a single mom and I have two younger sisters whom I take care of when my mom is too sick. In addition to this, it is the busiest time of the year. I am in the middle of studying for finals right now (I am in college), applying for graduate school, and Christmas is right around the corner. Today, my fiance, Travis, told me about his stressful day. He seemed to be focusing on all of the things going wrong. We all have these days, so I was doing my best to cheer him up! 🙂 In the middle of taking a break from studying I was scrolling through Pinterest. I came across and really cute craft which led me to your website. From there I clicked on this post about ‘Gratitude And The Hard’ because our pastor just finished a series about gratitude (and the title was calling my name!). Oh boy! This was just thing I needed tonight! It brought me away from focusing on all of the hardships and more toward God. I picked up my bible and read all of Acts 16 and then shared it with Travis. It was just the thing we needed tonight. I am so thankful to have come across this blog.