You are Stronger than You Think!

Have you ever asked God why He gave you the children He did? If I’m being honest, I ask this question a lot to Him. Not because I don’t love my little girl or that she is super difficult to deal with, it’s more so that I don’t feel qualified or skilled enough to raise her. She is such a strong-willed little girl and just has a way of pushing my buttons…even at 22 months! Though I know this is probably more common than I let myself believe, I just had one of those weeks last week. By Thursday I was texting my husband that I just couldn’t do this anymore. I just couldn’t handle the whining and push back I was getting with Olive. Now this probably more stemmed from my own issues than really what Olive was doing, but have you ever gotten to that point in motherhood? Where you just want to pack up your stuff and go sleep in a quiet, dark hotel room where putting a ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on your door is actually acceptable? That was me by the end of last week.  But thankfully I serve a God that knows my needs and shows up in ways that I can never anticipate. 

I think something that I have learned about motherhood is that we usually are a lot stronger than we think. I just remember thinking that I felt like I couldn’t go on, that I just wanted to go into my room and sleep, but I couldn’t, I had a toddler and myself to take care of. On top of feeling super inadequate last week we had a follow up appointment with an ear, nose and throat doctor on Wednesday to see if Olive needed tubes due to her ear infections the last few months. On Wednesday her ears were clear and not infected, but by Friday we ended up taking Olive into urgent care to only find out she had yet another ear infection. I just couldn’t believe it. I questioned God, ‘Why couldn’t this have come up on Wednesday when we were already here, why do we keep having to deal with this??’ His answer to me was simple. He so lovingly told me, ‘Jordyn, I wanted to show you how strong you really are.’

Now this revelation hit me like a ton of bricks because just a few days earlier I had been struggling with God about my strength. I remember before I had kids how I was a go-getter, and chased after my dreams and didn’t let up. These days I am too tired to bring the laundry downstairs to the washing machine. But in that moment when going to the pharmacy once again, God revealed the strength that I have in him. We don’t know what life is going to throw at us, we don’t know what our kids are going to do today or tomorrow, but when we seek after God and pursue His strength, we will surprise ourselves at how strong we really are. 

Now I know that this is a season of my life-having little babies and making little babies, but even in the seasons where we feel weak or unproductive, God still has something for us. Our strength may look a little different or we may have to ask for help a little more often, but that is not a sign that we have failed or are not doing enough. God has a way of showing up in the everyday, sometimes annoying, situations in life. My husband so graciously reminded me that Jesus so often taught his disciples through parables, not clear and concise stories. Sometimes I think He did that so we did the searching and not just let things fall into our lap. We all will have our difficult days; days where we break down time after time, but remember that God created you for this and He will give you the strength you need to get through the situations. All we need to do it call out to him. 

On our way home from the doctor Friday night, I told my husband that I think God gave me Olive to remind me just how strong I really am. I am not a perfect mom, by no means, but in Christ I can do all things. So the next time you are having a tough day, or your littles are driving you crazy, take that moment and cry out to God. Allow Him to encounter your chaos and give you peace. I am still tired today, but I must say, I have a new found strength that is not really in the form of energy, but more patience. I see myself not getting so worked up anymore. So let that be an encouragement to you-God does really show up in the everyday and remember, you ARE stronger than you think you are! Praying for you all today! Happy Mama Monday!