Rising Above, Part 2

I just can’t stop!  I was laying in bed last night thinking more about what I wrote and thought, “That’s it, there will have to be a part two.”  I have issues.

Yesterday, my running partner and I ran a 10k.  It was our first one ever but it’s really just part of the training for the half.  Her foot has been bothering her.  It had gotten worse all week.  It’s possible she should not have run yesterday.  We struggled through the first few miles then we decided I should just go on ahead.

I got to mile three and wondered why I was doing this.  It was not fun.  It was getting hot.  My legs hurt.  It’s also no fun to have no one to talk to so I started talking to random people along the way.  When we got to the end I had been on the tail of two women for about a mile. 

As I got closer I said to them, “I’ve been following you for a while, don’t let me beat you at the end.  You look good!”  It gave us a little chuckle and the energy to push through to the finish. 

My friend Heather came in a ways behind me, one of the last ones.  She had started talking to another woman that was struggling to finish, just coming off an injury.  She encouraged her to finish.  She said, “We can either walk this in 30 minutes or run it in 15.”  So they ran it together, foot throbbing all the way.

After they crossed the finish line, the lady came up to her and said, “Thank you so much!”

In any situation in life, we can rise above. Even my tired and hurt friend was able to rise above and be an encouragement. 

Not only in life as a mom, but in all of life, I want to choose to rise above.  I don’t want to be a downer, complainer who only sees the negative.  I want to inspire and encourage.  With my kids and everyone else I come into contact with.  Friends, strangers, or random people struggling through a 10k.

We can rise above through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The best thing is that when we do we magnify Christ.  We give Him glory for all he is doing in our life.  I can’t be inspiring on my own because I struggle with being tired and frustrated and angry.

But Christ in me, I can rise above bringing Him glory.  When you see another struggling mom, encourage and help.  When someone at church is in a tough situation, pray and help.  When the situation seems hopeless, share hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  Romans 12:13-16

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.  2 Corinthians 13:11

Life is much more joyful for me when I choose to rise above and encourage rather than let my circumstances sideline me.  I just need to look to God to do that work in me more often.

Rising Above

There are some days when being a mom is a glorious, fabulous, wonderful experience. A few weeks ago Annie had the day off from Kindergarten, but everyone else had school. I took her and Maren out on the town. We met some friends from ECFE at the Aquarium and then went to McDonald’s.

It was one of those days that was gold. No time pressures, no temper tantrums, no stress. My friends I’m sure had fun too, but they have little kids. They were pushing strollers, changing diapers, and chasing toddlers while I was sitting on a bench watching. I may have helped hold or feed a baby.

While we were the worst place on earth, the McD’s playground, I noticed a lot of other parents that were cranky and uninterested in their kids. They were not having fun. Neither were their kids.

I remember going to the aquarium as my first outing alone with all five kids. Five kids eight and under, double stroller, two in diapers and one nursing. I was exhausted and my body wasn’t fully recovered. It was scary and overwhelming trying to swing that one. If I had to go the bathroom everyone had to come in the handicap stall with me. I’m sure it was not a glorious day in many ways.

The cold, hard truth is that some days are great and full of joy. Some days are stressful and full of battles and drudgery. Some days you are up to your eye balls in spit up and diapers. Some days you enjoy a sunny day at the park. Most days there is more stinky laundry than an average NFL team could produce. But one thing I know is that the the days, good or bad go fast. Lightning fast.

I’m not sure how I went from the mom with all the little kids to the one sitting on the bench in the blink of an eye, but I did. And do you know what? I don’t want to let the messes and fighting and stress make me into a crabby and uninterested mom. I want nothing more than to be my best for them. Every day. Because you don’t get those days back.

Even though I have memories of being overwhelmed many times, especially when they were all little, those memories are also priceless. They were young and sweet and innocent and I’ll never get them back at that stage again. So I have to rise above my feelings and circumstances every day. Because once those days are over, they are gone for good.

On the days when I am crabby or wake up feeling like I want to throw in the towel, I can choose to rise above that. I know I want to do better for my kids. I can’t do it on my own because I’m crabby and tired a lot. And it makes me crabbier to know that I’m failing.

When I look at my kids, I know they need me. No, they need better than me. They need the love of Jesus Christ, through me.

That’s where it is imperative to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God in us and through that he can give us the power to do things we could not do in our own humanness. And that’s a good thing because I cannot be very patient and thankful when someone starts puking at 3:00 a.m.

This is God’s promise to us.

“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

Here are some of the things the Spirit can produce in us.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Those are qualities I cannot achieve myself, they only come through Him. So let me encourage you on this Mother’s Day when we get all flowery and philosophical about motherhood, to find the courage to rise above through the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is great fruit to be gleaned by your children through that. For those with all their mothering days before them, pray for those things in your life. For those of us who feel like we’ve blown it a lot, there is forgiveness and pruning. If we trust in Him and not ourselves we can bring sweetness to our lives as moms.

I feel fortunate that in my life I have had the privilege of having many women encourage me to enjoy the years I have with my kids. So, from the mom on the bench, be encouraged to rise above the feelings of the day and mother to the fullest with the Spirit’s help.

Like it or not, you will become the Mom on the bench before you know it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Making Much

I spend a great deal of my time doing laundry.  I mean a lot.  A lot, a lot.  If I did five loads a day I might have a prayer of staying on top of it. 

I am a big fan of the clothesline because it shortens the task and saves money.  Ok, truth be told, my husband is a big fan on the money part.  It allows me to be outside.   I can hang three loads at a time and they dry fast.  And smell so good.  Unless they are spreading manure in the field next to us.

The other day I was thinking I should not put so many loads up.  It was nearing the end of the day.  The sun was setting and it was getting cooler.  I’m not that smart and am no scientist but in my little brain I was thinking there wouldn’t be enough sun to go around.

Which is, of course, completely stupid. I’m looking at it from the wrong point of view. The sun is way bigger than my little clothesline. It has all the power it needs to dry.  It will not work better if I hang things out one garment at a time. 

The sun is a giant, self-sustaining ball of fire that heats the whole earth.  It is lots of miles away (again I’m not good with science).  It’s crazy to judge the ability of the sun to dry clothes by the size and scope of my little clothesline.

How much do I do that with God?  I make him small.  I look at things from my limited little point of view.  I wonder how He can take care of problems or where He is when those terrible things happen and reduce Him down to clothes line size.

When in reality He is outside of time.  He is the creator and sustainer of life.  How can I accomplish my desire to make much of God when I am viewing Him from my limited human mind.

I was just reading these verses for Bible study.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? 

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 

Who had understood the Spirit of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor?

Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? 

Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?”

Isaiah 40:12-14

God is self-sustaining.  He is all-knowing, all-powerful.  He does not need me this lowly puny little human to wonder if He’s got it under control.

While Job is suffering the book goes on and on with Job and his friends pontificating on why all these terrible things happened.  God eventually thunders back smashing all their great human wisdom to pieces.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me if you understand.  Who marked off it’s dimensions?  Surely you know!”  Job 38:4-5

“Have you ever entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?  What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?”  Job 38:22-24

The next four chapters rail on like that.  It’s obvious that we are foolish when we think we know better than God.  But I still try.  I still think it might help to only hang one shirt at a time to help him out.  Or question His ability to be in control of a situation that seems out of control to me.

So I need to make much of God.  How do I do that?  By allowing His glory to produce humility in us.  I want to make much of Him, not myself, not my circumstances.

My desire is to glorify Him in my life.  I can do that by praising Him for who He is.  The master of the universe.  The creator of the world.  The Savior of my soul.

When we make much of ourselves, we try to be our own god.  That is just crazy.  Surely there are things we do not know or understand.

Job seemed to get it after a four chapter smack-down.  He responds by saying:

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” 

Job 42:2-4

 

See I told you I spend way too much time doing laundry.

No Shame

My legs are sore.  My friend who happens to be a Physical Therapist asked me if I was limping last week.  I groaned and tried to walk less like an 80 year old.

There’s no shame in being sore from training for a race is there? 

I got new shoes because they say that helps your legs not hurt.  There is no shame in a new pair of shoes, that should go without saying.

There is no shame in athletic tape. I got some thanks to a tip from my physical therapist friend. It actually feels kind of cool and athletic.

There is no shame in spending a lot of time doing this.  I could probably invest in classier ice packs though.

I limped around the store looking for this tonight.

There’s no shame in needing Ben Gay when you’re 35.  Or smelling like toilet cleaner in order to walk without wincing.  Is there?

Yeah, you’re right.  There probably is.

Mothering Maren

Four years ago my little Maren came screaming into my life. My baby. The last one. A fourth girl! What a miraculous and special and fabulous day.

Problem being, she didn’t stop screaming for the next two and a half years. I’m telling you I didn’t think we were going to make it some days. So much crying. Many temper tantrums. Lots of stubbornness.

She screamed every single time I strapped her into her car seat for a full year. She gave herself a mullet. And hence, she is my baby. The last one.

There have been a lot of tough times over the last few years. Life changing stuff. And I realized this week as I was battling some of my older daughters that there are peaks and valleys. There are times that are so wonderful and fabulous to be a mother. Then there are times that are heart wrenching and stressful and scary. I’ve learned that when things are hard, there is going to be an upswing.

The key for me seems to be to enjoy the peaks to the fullest and let them carry me through the valleys. I think they are meant to bring us closer in the end. There may be days when we don’t like each other very much, but I always love you very, very much. That’ll get us through the valleys.

Whether we are having fun or struggling, we bond. That’s my deepest desire as a mom is to grow closer and deeper with my kids. I can see that with the other girls. I can see it with Maren. And I would not trade it for the world.

We are on a peak right now. She and I get to spend our days alone together whooping it up. We go places, play and visit. We do laundry and cuddle up in bed together. She is a total delight.

I know she will turn into a school aged girl and then, Lord help me, a teenager. There are more valleys and peaks to come. Sometimes they come month to month, and sometimes they come minute to minute.

But every day, every joy, every challenge leads to relationship. It leads to sparkle and shine. And love.

So I’ll take it. All of it. Peaks and valleys. Good times and hard times. As long as I’m with my girl. My baby. My last one. My sparkle and shine.

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