{Guest Post at www.LoriSchumaker.com}
I looked into those precious baby blue eyes. They seemed to peer right into my soul. We had just come home from the hospital, and I was having my first few moments alone with my sweet baby girl. I just couldn’t quit looking into her face, and as her eyes were searching mine, they seemed to be looking straight into my soul. I felt something I had never felt before, a love deeper than I had ever known, something that cannot be put into words. As I rocked her back and forth, I remember wondering at a love like that. It came to me at that moment, just a little wisp of a thought that flickered through my mind, “This must be how God loves me. I understand it better now.”
“This must be how God loves me. I understand it better now.”
That was over 20 years ago. In most of those 20 years as I raced through the responsibilities of being a mother and wife in those child-raising years, the joy and wonder of the kind of love that God wanted me to understand became dulled until I could barely see it.
I knew God loved me, of course, He did!
I knew God loved me, of course, He did! I attended church every Sunday, and I read my Bible and prayed. I tried really hard. I tried to be a good mother, a good wife, a good teacher, but there was a lot of comparison going on during the years that I raised my daughter and her brother – and a there was a whole lot of trying to be good enough.
The sad thing was, I tried so hard that I ended up looking in all the wrong places
for what I needed the most.
The sad thing was, I tried so hard that I ended up looking in all the wrong places for what I needed the most. I had lost sight of the one thing that would have really helped me. I couldn’t see the deep love that God had for me and intended for me to know. Because I didn’t understand His love fully, I really didn’t understand my true identity.
But one day, I heard the Lord calling me back …
When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord I will seek. Ps. 27:8Click To TweetI invite you to read the rest of this post at my friend, Lori Schumaker’s blog. Lori is a hope-giver and has been such an encouragement to me in so many ways. She speaks in many ways of our identity and the fact that we are chosen and worthy. You will find many encouraging words when you visit her!
You can read the rest of this post right HERE!
While you are there check out Lori’s Library of Hope and her articles full of encouragement for you!
You may find this post linked in other places! Click through to find hope and encouragement!
Moments of Hope / TeaAndWord Tuesdays / Tell His Story / Cheerleaders of Faith / Coffee for Your Heart / Sitting Among Friends / Live Free Thursday / Chasing Community / Salt and Light / Heart Encouragement Thursday / Counting My Blessings / Grace and Truth
I’m so thankful for finding this post right at this time. In this season of busyness, it’s easy to forget how huge God’s love is for me. Seems impossible when we have reminders of him sending his son everywhere, but if we are not mindful, we become numb to them and they just blend into the holiday happenings. I hope I never forget that wonder of knowing that God loves me!
Hi Christa, that is so true. It’s so easy to let the enormity of what God did with us get lost in the holiday busyness. Thankfully, He is good to keep pursuing us and help us get our eyes in the right place. Merry Christmas!
there’s nothing like becoming a parent to teach me how God parents me! (I can be such a brat!) Thanks, Leslie.
Sue, for sure! (About the parent part, I mean – not calling you a brat! LOL). Thanks for dropping by!
I am feeling depressed and hopeless. Why is my mom suffering with Alzheimer’s…why did my sister have a stroke and is cursed with bladder cancer…and then another set back…she had a brain bleed the day before Thanksgiving. Why bother praying, nothing will change. They’ll never fully recover
Cheryl, you are going through so much right now. Any one of those things is a huge burden to carry, but all of them at one time feels like too much. I really appreciate your honesty here. So many of us come to points where we feel depressed and hopeless. You ask such an honest question, “Why bother praying, nothing will change.” These are such real feelings and thoughts. It’s so hard to understand suffering. I’ve been in that place of watching my Dad suffer with cancer. It’s horrible. I don’t often ask God “Why?” but I remember asking Him that question during the time. Our grief and doubts and the sheer exhaustion from the amount of emotional and physical support we try to give to our loved ones compounds those questions, too. But I believe that God’s word offers something you can hold on to at a time like this. I want to share a verse with you. My sister found it and gave it to me when my Dad was sick. It’s Psalm 91:4 and it says, “He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness shall be your shield and rampart.” My family and I held on to that verse through that time with my father. We knew that he would not survive the cancer, but we also knew there was heaven waiting for him on the other side. And that verse showed us in a mighty way that God was holding us and shielding us and protecting us during that difficult time in such a tender way. His faithfulness never left us. When I questioned why, I would go back to that verse and it assured me that even though I didn’t understand, the Lord was there to help me through the grief and the raw and difficult questions I had at that time. There came a time when I quit praying what I thought I was supposed to pray, and instead talked to God in my frustration and grief and brought those kinds of questions before Him in prayer. I think part of the question of why bother to pray can be answered this way: God wants to hear what you have to say. He wants us to spend time with Him even when we are angry and hurting. He cares about us that much. Prayer is a relationship and relationships are difficult and hard and raw sometimes. It’s OK to feel that way in prayer as well. I would encourage you to not give up on prayer, even on your hardest days. There’s so much strength and help to be found when we go to Jesus in prayer. He’ll take you straight to the heart of our Heavenly Father who cares for us so tenderly. I will be praying for you and your family in this difficult time and asking Him him to give you the strength and comfort you need to get through this. I know you are a blessing to your Mom and sister. Thank you for being so honest here. Honesty always encourages another person that comes along later because we know we are not alone in our most difficult days.
Loved your post! “We can look straight into the face of Jesus and not be ashamed.” What a blessing! Thank you for sharing this timely message!
Erin, I’m so glad you stopped by today! Love that we can look to Jesus together!