You're Not Alone
Good Morning Girls! Let me start out this morning by saying this: I love my life! I love my kids! I love my husband! I love my home! I love my smelly dog! I love my friends! I love my family! And most of all I love the Lord!
So why am I starting out todays message with that declaration?
I am telling you all that because today I woke up more tired than when I went to bed. I had a very emotional day yesterday- both good and bad- and it left me wiped out. I went to bed feeling irritated, frustrated, unappreciated, and unvalidated (is that a word?). And as many of you know, when you go to bed in that way, you do not suddenly wake up feeling refreshed.
So I woke up with the same feelings I went to bed with, but now they were intensified by a headache and that overall heaviness you feel when you go to sleep in turmoil. As I started my day all I kept thinking is "if one more person takes from me (my energy, my time, my emotions) I am going to snap!"
There are simply not enough hours in the day for me these days. My heart longs to do so much, but I can't. Every time I realize that someone or something in my life is going to get neglected (again) it leaves me feeling like a failure. My life feels out of control despite the fact that I continuously examine my schedule, place it before the Lord and ask Him to help me get rid of anything unnecessary. The crazy thing is it doesn't even seem like I have that much on my schedule, but the things I do have all seem to be really emotionally and mentally draining.
So why am I telling you all this? Am I whining and looking for some sympathy? Am I inviting you all to my pity party? Am I looking for someone to validate me and tell me I am not an awful person? NOPE! The reason I am telling you all this is simple: as I stomped around the house praying and picking up after the family that I love despite them sucking the life out of me, the Lord simply spoke to my heart and said "You are not alone".
"I know Lord. I know you are always with me. I know your mercy and grace is greater than my emotions. I know everything will work out. I know I will get the things done that need to get done. I know I simply need to take one step at a time and soon I will be caught up. I know you have it all worked out. I know everything will be okay- they will be better than okay- they will be great. I know I am blessed. I know I have a good life. I know. I know. I know."
I picture the Lord looking at me with a look like "Are you done yet? Are you ready to "hear" me?" - so I sit down in front of the computer and grab my Bible and this time I hear "You are not alone. There are many others out there feeling the same way you are feeling today. There are many out there who right at this moment feel unloved, unappreciated, frustrated, and unvalidated. The difference is, they are not as confident as you are that these feelings will ever go away. You need to tell them that they will."
So here I sit at my computer, with a messy house, a broken vacuum, two sick kids, a husband who is wondering when his wife will exit the emotional roller coaster from hell, a car that won't start and leaks oil when it does, and an empty refrigerator because somehow I just couldn't get the grocery shopping done............and a partridge in a pear tree!
You know what else I have? I have a smile. Not a little uptight teeth gritting smile- but a ear to ear "cat that ate the canary smile", along with my favorite Christmas cd playing in the background.
How am I able to have the smile and sing music? That's simple. I have something else. I have a promise. In fact, I have a whole book of promises! And in this book of promises I find courage, strength, and hope. I find my validation. I discover that not only am I appreciated, but I am beloved! I learn that not only does the Lord understand my sorrows, but He in fact carried them and nailed them to the cross, so I don't have to!
So Girls, if you are feeling the way I felt when I woke up this morning, please know this: You are loved! You are appreciated! You are noticed! You are precious! You are beloved! As they say in Finding Nemo "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming". You will get to shore!
Psalm 42:5 why am I discouraged? why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again- my Savior and my God.
Your highly favored and beloved sister in faith,
Jen
So why am I starting out todays message with that declaration?
I am telling you all that because today I woke up more tired than when I went to bed. I had a very emotional day yesterday- both good and bad- and it left me wiped out. I went to bed feeling irritated, frustrated, unappreciated, and unvalidated (is that a word?). And as many of you know, when you go to bed in that way, you do not suddenly wake up feeling refreshed.
So I woke up with the same feelings I went to bed with, but now they were intensified by a headache and that overall heaviness you feel when you go to sleep in turmoil. As I started my day all I kept thinking is "if one more person takes from me (my energy, my time, my emotions) I am going to snap!"
There are simply not enough hours in the day for me these days. My heart longs to do so much, but I can't. Every time I realize that someone or something in my life is going to get neglected (again) it leaves me feeling like a failure. My life feels out of control despite the fact that I continuously examine my schedule, place it before the Lord and ask Him to help me get rid of anything unnecessary. The crazy thing is it doesn't even seem like I have that much on my schedule, but the things I do have all seem to be really emotionally and mentally draining.
So why am I telling you all this? Am I whining and looking for some sympathy? Am I inviting you all to my pity party? Am I looking for someone to validate me and tell me I am not an awful person? NOPE! The reason I am telling you all this is simple: as I stomped around the house praying and picking up after the family that I love despite them sucking the life out of me, the Lord simply spoke to my heart and said "You are not alone".
"I know Lord. I know you are always with me. I know your mercy and grace is greater than my emotions. I know everything will work out. I know I will get the things done that need to get done. I know I simply need to take one step at a time and soon I will be caught up. I know you have it all worked out. I know everything will be okay- they will be better than okay- they will be great. I know I am blessed. I know I have a good life. I know. I know. I know."
I picture the Lord looking at me with a look like "Are you done yet? Are you ready to "hear" me?" - so I sit down in front of the computer and grab my Bible and this time I hear "You are not alone. There are many others out there feeling the same way you are feeling today. There are many out there who right at this moment feel unloved, unappreciated, frustrated, and unvalidated. The difference is, they are not as confident as you are that these feelings will ever go away. You need to tell them that they will."
So here I sit at my computer, with a messy house, a broken vacuum, two sick kids, a husband who is wondering when his wife will exit the emotional roller coaster from hell, a car that won't start and leaks oil when it does, and an empty refrigerator because somehow I just couldn't get the grocery shopping done............and a partridge in a pear tree!
You know what else I have? I have a smile. Not a little uptight teeth gritting smile- but a ear to ear "cat that ate the canary smile", along with my favorite Christmas cd playing in the background.
How am I able to have the smile and sing music? That's simple. I have something else. I have a promise. In fact, I have a whole book of promises! And in this book of promises I find courage, strength, and hope. I find my validation. I discover that not only am I appreciated, but I am beloved! I learn that not only does the Lord understand my sorrows, but He in fact carried them and nailed them to the cross, so I don't have to!
So Girls, if you are feeling the way I felt when I woke up this morning, please know this: You are loved! You are appreciated! You are noticed! You are precious! You are beloved! As they say in Finding Nemo "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming". You will get to shore!
Psalm 42:5 why am I discouraged? why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again- my Savior and my God.
Your highly favored and beloved sister in faith,
Jen
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