I’m writing this more for myself—a needed reminder that not every day will be a glorious triumph in parenting. Not every day is a magical moment made. The last few days have been rough. Bloodwork that came back less than ideal this week (including being anemic somehow), compounded by a toddler who has made meltdowns into a new artform, has me feeling defeated. Some days all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and “do the next thing” as Elisabeth Elliot once said. Somedays all you can do is pray.
Pray that God would give grace for the hard and impossible in front of you—whatever it may be. A screaming toddler, a physical limitation, emotional hurdle, grief, mustering enough strength to do that next thing you just want to dismiss away—it all takes strength. On days when you feel your own strength waning, it takes supernatural strength—God’s strength.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” —2 Corinthians 12:9a
This doesn’t mean that thorn of hardship before you will disappear. Even as Paul penned the above words, he had already pleaded with God on three different occasions to remove his pain, and yet it remained. God allowed the thorn so that humility would flourish. Pain had purpose. God’s divine grace was sufficient. In our weaknesses, God shines, and in this reality, Paul rejoiced.
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10
In and of myself, I am not strong. Sometimes life holds together. Somedays it unravels. Some days my child’s tantrums are met with mini-meltdowns of my own. I reel from the loss of being able to control things. That inner feeling of incompetency is unsettling, unnerving. Sometimes there are not tidy answers to the complexities we walk on this side of heaven. Unlike what the world would say, I am not master of my own domain. And yet, here, I am reminded that God is. God is sovereign. God is in control. God has me, and God has this—the hard thing I can’t hurdle over, under, or around. There is purpose in pain. God draws us in so that He can be evident to all that anything held together is held together by His hand alone.
God doesn’t ask me to be a perfect Pinterest parent. He doesn’t expect me to understand everything or have the right solution for each problem I face. What is required is faith and trust that God is good, that God is trustworthy, and that God is in control. God requires me to walk steadfast with Him, come rain or shine.
The past few days have rained. Tomorrow may hold beautiful sunshine. In both, God is on His throne, sovereign, good. His grace for me is sufficient.
