If you want to sleep at night DO NOT search the internet for information on bed bugs. These nasty little buggers like to hitchhike on clothing and luggage, are experts at hiding and can infest a home quicker than... well, I won't say anymore... for your sake. They hitchhiked right into our home a couple weeks ago? a month ago? longer? from who knows where with all of our recent travels. It doesn't really matter because by the time we discovered that they were the source of the bites all over Emma and Evie, our house was turned upside down. "Wit's end" does not even begin to describe where I was at as I steamed, cleaned, sprayed, washed, dried, and disinfected like a crazy woman. I wish I could say that it was over and we are bed bug free but, although we have not seen signs of them in days I still feel uneasy and continue my "de-infesting" spree. When things like this happen in our home, I am not okay. I am not okay when things are not okay. And when Mom is not okay, things are not okay. I work and work and work to make things okay. There's no time to rest when there are bed bugs to kill!!! And then there's a still small voice in my heart that says, "It's okay. Stop a moment. Rest. I am still God. You can be okay even when things are not okay." But I keep on... mumbling under my breath about bed bugs being part of the curse... desperately clawing my way back up to "okay." I can't be okay when things are not okay!!! The reality is that with three small children, it feels like things are rarely okay. I live in the years where every morning I wake knowing that more will be asked of me than I have to give. My emotional and physical tank often runs on empty.
Me: "Lord, I'm not the wife I thought I would be, I'm not the kind of mother that I want to be, and what about the vast field of souls outside my apartment door? I have nothing to offer- no time, no energy, sometimes barely a smile with a slight nod (because I didn't understand half of what was spoken to me)."
God: "Sara, your "nothing" is exactly what I want to use in this place, that's why things cannot be okay."
Me: "But I want to have something! I want You to use my "something"! I want You to use my strengths! I want to feel good about myself, about my offerings and investment in my family and in this calling."
God: "I don't want to use your "something," it won't bear the kind of fruit I'm looking for. I want to use your "nothing." I want to use your failures and your weaknesses. I want to shine the light of my Gospel and pour my Spirit through the broken holes in your life, not the facade of you having it all together."
Me.: "But I like looking like I have it all together. I look good that way! Other moms like me, respect me, approve of me. I approve of me when I'm that way! I don't want to look like the wreck that I am! I hate that me. I don't want You to use that because it's not good for me. I'm selfish... I like the image I portray."
God: "But that's not what's good for you. I love the real you, the you that left nothing for your husband as you steam-engined through the days following the bed bug discovery, the you that screamed at your children today because they encroached on your agenda, the you that had the chance to talk to someone about me and you backed down out of fear of being inadequate, the you that desperately needs Me to make it through the day, the you that truly requires my grace. That's the you I love and that's the you I want to use in the lives of your children and your husband and the people you meet outside your door. It's okay to need me- I created you for it. You don't just need me because you need a Savior to take care of your sin, I created you as a person that only I could make whole. Even in the garden, without sin, they needed Me. It is sin to forget that, to seek to be the kind of person that does not need Me. My goal for you is not perfection, as in you not needing me anymore. My goal for you is for you to know the reality of my love. Only that will truly free you."
For the past year every time I have taken my children we leave of wake of people exclaiming, "Three kids! Wow! How do they do it?!" Most of the people we live among only have one child. They cannot imagine what our life is like with three. As I have encountered the question over and over again, "How do you do it?" I have put on my strong, happy face and said, "it's busy but it's fun. Children are a blessing." I have felt like I had to hold it together in front of all the other moms as if to say, "Your propoganda is wrong! You can do it- you can have more than one! Look, it's fun! It's a blessing! I'm not tired! I'm having a blast!" But that's not the real me... It's not being honest... As of last week I am surrendering to that still small voice. When they ask I say, "I don't know. I am very busy and I am very tired. I cannot do it. God gave me three special gifts and even though I have no strength, His strength is big. He gives me His strength."
"Lord, my offerings and investment in this place seem small especially in a season where I am consumed with the care of small children. Please grow Your Kingdom here... in my heart, in East Asia.... through me or even in spite of me. Lift up my heart enough to sow small seeds of faith and courage.... even if they are barely there, mustard seed size. A seed of the Gospel here, a little salt and light there, first in my heart and then in my neighbor's. ..."
Pray that who He is breaks into my neighbor's hearts, pray that as I confess, apologize and ask forgiveness, my children would understand what a beautiful and precious gift Jesus is because their Momma needs Him so much, and pray that He would continue to lop off my pride, the parts of me that aren't really me and push His love and grace and the truth of His Gospel deeper and deeper into my heart making me the me He always intended for me to be.
And pray that the bed bugs go away:)
Me: "Lord, I'm not the wife I thought I would be, I'm not the kind of mother that I want to be, and what about the vast field of souls outside my apartment door? I have nothing to offer- no time, no energy, sometimes barely a smile with a slight nod (because I didn't understand half of what was spoken to me)."
God: "Sara, your "nothing" is exactly what I want to use in this place, that's why things cannot be okay."
Me: "But I want to have something! I want You to use my "something"! I want You to use my strengths! I want to feel good about myself, about my offerings and investment in my family and in this calling."
God: "I don't want to use your "something," it won't bear the kind of fruit I'm looking for. I want to use your "nothing." I want to use your failures and your weaknesses. I want to shine the light of my Gospel and pour my Spirit through the broken holes in your life, not the facade of you having it all together."
Me.: "But I like looking like I have it all together. I look good that way! Other moms like me, respect me, approve of me. I approve of me when I'm that way! I don't want to look like the wreck that I am! I hate that me. I don't want You to use that because it's not good for me. I'm selfish... I like the image I portray."
God: "But that's not what's good for you. I love the real you, the you that left nothing for your husband as you steam-engined through the days following the bed bug discovery, the you that screamed at your children today because they encroached on your agenda, the you that had the chance to talk to someone about me and you backed down out of fear of being inadequate, the you that desperately needs Me to make it through the day, the you that truly requires my grace. That's the you I love and that's the you I want to use in the lives of your children and your husband and the people you meet outside your door. It's okay to need me- I created you for it. You don't just need me because you need a Savior to take care of your sin, I created you as a person that only I could make whole. Even in the garden, without sin, they needed Me. It is sin to forget that, to seek to be the kind of person that does not need Me. My goal for you is not perfection, as in you not needing me anymore. My goal for you is for you to know the reality of my love. Only that will truly free you."
For the past year every time I have taken my children we leave of wake of people exclaiming, "Three kids! Wow! How do they do it?!" Most of the people we live among only have one child. They cannot imagine what our life is like with three. As I have encountered the question over and over again, "How do you do it?" I have put on my strong, happy face and said, "it's busy but it's fun. Children are a blessing." I have felt like I had to hold it together in front of all the other moms as if to say, "Your propoganda is wrong! You can do it- you can have more than one! Look, it's fun! It's a blessing! I'm not tired! I'm having a blast!" But that's not the real me... It's not being honest... As of last week I am surrendering to that still small voice. When they ask I say, "I don't know. I am very busy and I am very tired. I cannot do it. God gave me three special gifts and even though I have no strength, His strength is big. He gives me His strength."
"Lord, my offerings and investment in this place seem small especially in a season where I am consumed with the care of small children. Please grow Your Kingdom here... in my heart, in East Asia.... through me or even in spite of me. Lift up my heart enough to sow small seeds of faith and courage.... even if they are barely there, mustard seed size. A seed of the Gospel here, a little salt and light there, first in my heart and then in my neighbor's. ..."
Pray that who He is breaks into my neighbor's hearts, pray that as I confess, apologize and ask forgiveness, my children would understand what a beautiful and precious gift Jesus is because their Momma needs Him so much, and pray that He would continue to lop off my pride, the parts of me that aren't really me and push His love and grace and the truth of His Gospel deeper and deeper into my heart making me the me He always intended for me to be.
And pray that the bed bugs go away:)
YES. THIS. I'm so glad you put into words what I'm feeling. We are battling BBugs and having a (very expensive) heat treatment n a couple days. It's AWFUL. I've got 5 kids and 4 still live at home and these pests seem to be sent to drive us bonkers. And I argue with God the same.way.you,describe. Thank you.
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