As I dragged myself out of bed onto the floor to respond to the cries of my newborn, I knew this particular day would be hard. The morning hours passed by and she continued to fuss and fuss and fuss and my toddler was at my ankles, whining constantly. I felt like being mean because I was so sleep deprived. And my husband was the first to hear all my complaints and how I wish I could hire out a Mommy for the day or go into work for him.
How am I supposed to get through another day? I asked God. How am I supposed to be the godly person I want to be when I’m absolutely spent?
And that’s when His gentle, quiet voice whispered: I am with you. And I started remembering that…
When we are weary and can’t move on, that is when God says He will give us strength and lift up our heads.
When we want to throw in the towel, that is when God wraps us in his steadfast love and renews us.
When we do not feel his presence, that is when God reminds us of the truth that He is here.
Because it is in the times where we feel like we are struggling to survive in a sun-scorched desert, that we start lifting our hands to heaven for help. We have no other choice but to rely on Christ because without him, we would die. However, we cannot be afraid to ask Him (regarding the big and little struggles of life) and tell him our concerns. He is always willing and ready to answer our prayers.
While I have felt sleep deprived again this week and have a sore throat and a cold (along with the rest of my family), I’ve been able to better lean on the truth that He really is with me. He is for me and understands what it’s like to be physically exhausted and what it’s like to struggle.
Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. – Psalm 55:22
My legs hit the floor again at 4:00 AM this morning so I could care for my son who has a bad cough. While I reached over to give him water and tylenol, I trusted in the fact that a day is coming where I will have rest and that God is using my struggles and the gift of raising my children to teach me a greater dependence upon Him.