“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”
~ Luke 16:10a
This week has been tough. Our family of five has had a virus that has caused us to feel miserable at times, and grumpy at others. It has been a week where pretty much everything has been surrendered except basic care. I almost feel as if the sickness will never go away. In the end, I know it will, but it made me think of other times in my life where suffering seemed to never end: the endless monotony of the ordinary, or the seemingly endless trudge of sleepless nights or unending pain. There are times in each of our lives where the darkness, or at the very least the grayness, of life seems to overcome us. We look ahead to the “other side”, making promises of what we might do if our situation changes. The truth is, change doesn’t happen in the future, it happens now. Luke 16:10a tells us, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” God tells us in order to be entrusted with more, we must first take care of what we are already have.
Let me give you an example from my life. For the past 3 years, I have been searching for my calling from God. I had this feeling that there was supposed to be something more to my life. I kept hearing stories of people who encountered God in magnificent ways and I felt like I had never really encountered Him at all. I am a stay at home mother to my boys, and three years ago I had just given birth to my second son. My oldest, who was closing in on three years old was no longer the sweet little baby I remember, and my sweet new baby was colicky and I did not know how to console him. It was a tiring time of my life. Nevertheless, I was searching for how God wanted to use me outside my home. I tried running Bible Studies at my church, searched for leadership positions within my church and Bible Study, and looked for opportunities to get involved with local non-profit organizations. Each search left me feeling stressed and empty, a failure.
As time wore on, I gradually began to focus more on quiet time and rest. This became more and more difficult as my boys grew older and with the addition of our third son just over a year ago. While this may seem like a small step to take, it was one which had mighty results. Even though the day to day got more difficult, I began to feel more at peace. God was merciful in giving me wise counsel in the form of friends, family and even blogs! As I immersed myself into His Word, one thing was becoming apparent: God wanted me to focus on my ministry to my family and those around me. I am encountering God as I never have before. As I have slowly worked on my relationship with God, I have been more intentional about teaching my children about God and showing them how to live a godly life. I have tried to be an example to family and friends when I interact with them and others. As I dug into the Word, it gradually made it easier for me to be an example of God’s love to others. It is the beginning of an amazing transformation.
Let me be clear, I am a work in progress. You may look at me and see a hypocrite. I fail, sometimes often. However, I improve. With each trial and slip-up, I learn something about myself. I see a situation that needs to be dealt with. I see an area where frustration still lives and I look for the area that needs improved.
Frustration is never more apparent than when I am exhausted due to lack of sleep and an abundance of responsibilities. There are times when I grow frustrated, especially with my children, and my reactions to them are not the example I would like to give. When I find myself doing this, I know my life is out of balance. I may not be able to control how much sleep I get or the necessities of raising my children, but I can control other things. This may mean that I may have to change my cleaning schedule, how often or when I get my “mommy” time, or what things get delegated or rescheduled. It may mean I need to pay more attention to my health, such as exercise and diet, or even my quiet time focusing on God. Whatever it is, I need to deal with it.
The amazing thing is, I have seen some of the results of being faithful to my small responsibilities. One, I have begun to see the joy in the everyday. While I still may not look forward to changing a dozen diapers in a day, I do look forward to their silly games and the big smiles and hugs I get. The other amazing thing that has happened is that opportunities to do greater things have presented themselves to me. Instead of feeling stressed and frustrated, I feel peace and joy. There are setbacks, but even these do not throw me off like they used to.
You may read this post and think you have nothing in common with me. However, even if you have no children or your children are grown, we all face trials. Do you find yourself looking beyond today to the what if? If so, we have much in common. I invite you to look beyond your situation to what you are learning. What have you learned about yourself and what have you learned about God?
To close, I am going to leave you with a passage from Ecclesiastes which highlights God’s acknowledgement that in everything there is a season.
For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.
– Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Bridget said:
Do you know how proud of you I am? Being a mom is one of the most or is the most important thing to God! I always question what I did, but I know that being a mom was my calling. See, you turned out good! lol I love you all dearly!
kristenlee68 said:
I love this! I am not a mother but I can relate to this very much! If I cannot learn to love what God has given me and where I am now, how can I expect him to give me more? Thank you for being so open and honest!
Love and blessings,
Kristen
(Obs group leader)
Marilyn said:
Thanks for sharing your journey with God. I am a Grandma and many times have question God on what is my calling now that I am retired and have Grandkis and like you God has me taking the time to be quiet , still and focus on Him and not to run ahead but wait for my”greater” whatever that maybe.I too have to learn to live and love what God has given me and where he has me now. That’s for the blessing of sharing here God has you now.
Marilyn said:
Too bad I can’t type : Thanks for the blessing of sharing here where God has you now and Grandkids oh my fingers are faster than the brain.
beckmomof5 said:
I so relate to you on many, many levels. The similarities in how we feel made this read so enjoyable. We, too, have been dealing with sickness since Thanksgiving. A horrible 6 day virus ran through my 3 younger kids and my hubby…thankfully, I never got it. As we cleared up just in time for Christmas, we’ve been hit again this past week. My 8 yo son was diagnosed with Mono just yesterday…it’s been another week of high fevers and endless worry and anxiety on my part, which, in turn has made me say and do things that don’t reflect Christ. I just soooooo understand where you’re coming from. I will pray for your healing and a happy, joyful heart.
God Bless!
rportteus said:
Thanks Becky! I will pray for your family too.
shecat125 said:
Becca,
It doesn’t matter if I have kids or not (I don’t by the way) because what you have written in spot on in so many ways. The little things always come first. It’s not often that we are entrusted with Great things until we master the little things. This is so true in all areas of life.
God’s wisdom amazes me (I know it shouldn’t) but if I were to take His truths and lessons and correlate them to life, it would be so much easier and less stressful. But like all children, I have to learn by making mistakes or having someone show me. Lessons remembered are often those we have learned through trial and error – the bigger the error, the better the lesson “sticks”.
Thank you for sharing your insight.
Blessings,
Catherine
OBS Group Leader
prince26155 said:
I find that one of the biggest roadblock in my life to that “greater” life is looking back. Too often I search in the past asking, “what if” or, “if only”. When I live in the past I can only live with regret and I don’t enjoy the today. Then at times I try to go to tomorrow and I ask, “How?”. I’m learning that the only place I can live and please God is right now, at this moment. I can let yesterday go. I can refuse to try to figure out my tomorrow. Today, I’ll trust God. Today, I’ll give Him all of me. Today, I’ll listen to that “still small voice” and I’ll answer, “yes”. God bless you on your journey. Please just enjoy each moment. Enjoy the diapers, they will be gone soon.
Aisha said:
This was great, sometimes we forget to attend to the things God has already given us in pursuit ofmore. Thanks for the remnder.