Pitiful or Powerful? You Choose.

If you are a parent, there are just things you will come up short on.

Sleep.

Most likely exercise.

Time. Man, there is just never enough time.

Every night we go to bed with a list of things left undone, right?

And especially moms…we generally have our own things that just get put on the back burner…everyone else’s everything comes before us. And over time, I have gotten used to that and realized that is what it means to become selfless. It’s another way that I love my children. After all this time, I’m good with it.

But in all this, we have a choice to make about how we see it.

We can choose to be pitiful about it. Whining. Complaining. Begging our friends to feel sorry for us because we have the blessing of children and money to spend taking them from activity to activity, a car to drive them in, a roof to sleep under…(hear the sarcasm?)

Or we can choose to be powerful.

Meek. Quietly strong.

Knowing that eventually, baby will sleep through the night.

Football season may be crazy, but it is only for 10 weeks.

Yes, my only time frame for exercise may be after the kids go to bed in the dark…but at least I won’t need sunscreen!

I may be late getting dinner on the table, but I have food in the pantry to make it with. If I am low on groceries, I can always make pancakes…kids love breakfast for dinner!

You see, when we complain, we teach our children that at the end of the day—they are just not worth the trouble. They are a burden to us. We wish we had time for anything other than their stuff. But when we trudge forward…continually serving, continually encouraging…we teach them what it looks like to love and serve others. We show them what love looks like. We are a powerful example to them of selflessness. Faith. And in the meantime we are being forged by a loving God into an effective weapon.

The Lord inhabits our praises, waxes strong in our hearts and minds even as we can think of nothing else but to sing “Jesus loves me.” But the enemy gains ground through our complaining.

Don’t be pitiful. Choose powerful.

And coffee.

And when you can find yourself about to complain…sing. Even if it is just “Jesus loves me, this I know” you will still be stronger than if you had given into complaining.