“Don't listen to the world's answers. And don't fall into the trap of trying to be like other moms. Just saturate yourself in God's Truth and trust the gut instincts He gives you.” --- Lysa TerKeurst
I am trying to let go of so many expectations I have for myself and my family and just saturate myself in God's word. His Word is all I need. His promises will sustain me. God is #enough.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV)
Its time for me to get back to the basics and just lean into Jesus. A friend's comment yesterday about needing to get back into the Word hit home for me. She said that was the way to get replenished and she is so right! I keep waiting for life to slow down so I can find some time to do something that will replenish me, or make me feel rested, and that is just not the answer. I feel like I’ve been fighting against something for a while now, and I don’t know what it even is. But I’m exhausted from it. I tend to google and read self help articles/books/blogs/devotions trying to find a formula or answer to my struggles, and I keep coming up empty. And the struggle is still there.
My Mom told me something about my great grandmother that really got me thinking. She had a 4th grade education and 14 children. She was only 4 foot 9, but ran a household and a farm. She could ring the neck of a chicken Sunday morning before church and have a home cooked meal on the table after church. She didn’t have Google (gasp!). Her daily schedule included fixing a large meal in the middle of the day for her family and then after cleaning up, she would sit in her rocker and read her Bible for an hour, every single day. That was her self help book. That was her formula. Every one of her 14 children has come to know the Lord in their hearts. How successful of a mom she was!
Her children and her grandchildren would all come to her over the years for council and to vent frustrations about life. Mom said after every “session” with one of her own, after the person left, she would stand up and shake her apron out. Mom asked her what she was doing one time and she said she was shaking all the worries out of her apron. She would just give them to God and keep on going. How often we need to shake out our aprons!
So I’m trying to let some things go this week. Shake out my apron and read my Bible and pray. Back to the basics. No scheming this week for plans and formulas to try and help myself fix everything. I’m going to read the only self help book we need, and shake my apron out to the only one who can take all my worries from me.
Praying you will shake out your apron today and have time in the word this upcoming week because God is #enough.
Linking up this week with Proverbs 31 ministries.
Great post! I love the look at your Grandmother's way of handling life, her "self-help book", and especially shaking the worries off of her apron. It really reminded me of my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteSandi Brewer, OBS Small Group Leader
Awesome! My grandmother was very similar and she used to tell me all the time "this too shall pass." She passed away earlier this year but I often think of her quiet strength, especially during trials. Thanks so much for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThis was really good! I too read a lot of self help stuff looking for that magic formula. It encourages me for a bit but it always wears off and my apron remains heavy with worries. My grandmother had a similar work ethic to your great grandmother and was also an expert chicken slayer/preparer of large family meals. She raised her family in Europe during WWII and I cannot fathom all she went through just to keep her loved ones alive let alone thrive. Those genes are a part of me, somewhere I know which is comforting. God is great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story of your great grandmother it is inspiring to know how she relied on God's word to strengthen her. Can't imagine how she did all that work. I like the idea of shaking out her apron to get rid of her worries. I wear an apron to cook so I will have to remember to shake out my apron next time I wear it and let all my worries go. She was so right in reading the Bible helps to keep going each day.
ReplyDeleteBoy, did I need to hear that! Just focus on Jesus and not all this other stuff ( as good as it may be) because I feel exhausted too!
ReplyDeleteI loved this! Thank you so much for sharing. I have been struggling for a while with my grown kids and stuff they share with me. As a matter of fact I had a brief conversation with my husband about how a friend who has the ability to tell her kids when they come to her with their problems that she knows they will figure it out. I asked her to send some of that ability my way. So reading this was a great visual for me to put into practice when my kids come with their struggles. Thank you! With God we can shake out the apron and let go of the apron strings. Thanks. Liz.
ReplyDeleteLove it, Liz!
DeleteI love the shaking of the apron! Similar to putting worries on paper notes and into a worry jar. Or what I do is mentally put the concern in a box and put it on my "God" shelf. If I put it on His shelf I'm not supposed to take it back. Sometimes I can do this; other times I mentally put things back on the shelf a few times. There have been some times that I'm sure I wore through the path to my God shelf because I couldn't let go and had to keep giving the concern back to Him. Thanks for your blog today.
ReplyDeleteI tend to want to play catch with God too, Jennifer. Hang in there!
Delete"Shake out your apron." <--- I LOVE that! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWow! This was really awesome!! I love the fact that you shared your Grandma's self help was the Bible and she didn't have google. What a great reminder that God provided all the instruction we need through His Word!! Great post!! Thank you!
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