Wednesday, January 13, 2016

A Devotion // An Abundant Life


Right now at our house, someone is always talking. Or singing. Or shouting. Or crying.

There’s so much information coming into my brain at each moment that I often feel like it just needs to shut off. Unless I can peel myself out of bed before the baby wakes up, this momma - like you - is in demand for at least the next 12 hours. It is so easy to get put out, worked up and irritated - causing me to be stressed and anxious beyond anything I ever imagined. 

It is not how I pictured being a mother. It’s not how I want to be a mom... but as I find myself at this crossroads, I’m not really sure how to move forward. 

It hit me today in a short moment of prayer that there just might be more to this life than all of these demands that either I or others have put on me. I’ve been going through a bible study on the books of John and this verse stuck out to me so clearly.

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” {John 10:10}. 

He uses “they” to refer to his sheep. That’s me, y’all. That’s us! We are the sheep and he came so that we, even in our beautiful mess right here and now, might have an abundant life.

He could have stopped at life. He could have said, I have come so that they might have life, but he didn’t. He kept going and said that Jesus didn’t come so that we just might live... but so that we might have a life that is so full and wonderful and glorifying to him that he uses the word abundant

Let that sink in for a moment. That baby might be crying upstairs, but linger here for just one more sec. He came so that we - you and I - might have an abundant life. 

Oh - but there’s that baby crying again. Or that toddler that is breathing down your neck for her second snack of the morning. Or the crayons that have mysteriously appeared on the wall over the last few moments you’ve been trying to steal for yourself... how dare you!

I’ve so been wrestling with what it might look like to live abundantly even in this crazy season of our lives with little ones and chaotic schedules. Whether you just have one or you have ten {God bless you, momma!} If you’re like me, it’s really hard to think of an abundant life at the present moment. I have no idea what the right answer is, but there are a few ideas of where we could start together. 

What if we started by being fully present. By not wishing away the kids around us - by not longing for our lives before, longing for the days of kindergarten or graduation. What if we started by putting our cell phones down, taking real photographs and engaging in conversation with our little ones.

Don’t get me wrong, sitting down and playing barbies with my middle child and doing the voice of the ugliest Ken doll I’ve ever seen is not my idea of a good time. I do not want to clean up the crumbs from the play dough and I can think of 10 things I’d rather be doing than playing pretend school time.{One of those things might just be separating my laundry into whites + colors which no one has time for anymore.} But I have found that by laying down my own agenda and ideas of things that I want to do, the day ends with a greater feeling of accomplishment as opposed to simply trying to cross things off my list. 

When I wake up with the expectation that my day will run smoothly and everything will get crossed on my list knocked off, it seems that frustration always arises when it doesn’t happen. I forget that my day isn’t - and shouldn’t - be my own. It’s His. If I lay down my list and my idea of what I want my day to look like, it suddenly doesn’t matter that everything gets done. There’s more room for joy to flood in when I roll with the punches instead of fighting them. 

In my short time in being a mom, I’ve found this to be true: there is a difference between feeling spent and empty at the end of the day and feeling spent and full. Living abundantly is a choice I have today, even in my weariness. Are we going to be sucked into the lives of others through social media or are we going to be sucked into our own lives with our little ones, our husband, our homes and our jobs. 

There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by others that are running their races well, but when we get pulled out of living abundantly in our own lives by the abundant lives that they’re living - we are doing our families {and ourselves} a disservice. 
 
We can have abundant life even in the midst of the mundane of everyday duties. In the midst of doing laundry, wiping bottoms, fixing snacks and playing catch. We would be remiss if we didn’t think that motherhood is our calling of callings. It is where we have the potential to live the most abundantly. Where Jesus has the biggest area to fill in the gaps. Where we can see his divine presence most fully. Let him fill in these gaps today. Surrender to him and watch for His goodness to fill your heart so no mater the circumstances, you will be living life to the fullest. 

Where do you find yourself this morning, friend? 

Are you battling feelings of boredom or discontent? Jesus came so that you might live abundantly. 

Are you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged? Jesus came so that you might live abundantly. 

Do you find yourself struggling with sin that you never imagined you would? Jesus came so that you might live abundantly.

There will be days that we are in survival mode, for sure. There will be hard days upon hard days upon hard days. I’ve been there often... shoot, I’m there now even as I write these words. But if we live in constant survival mode in our roles as women we will be missing out on a lot of life that Jesus came to allow us to live! 

There’s more to life than just making it through the day.

There are people that need Jesus, children we need to shepherd and husbands we need to serve. If our eyes aren’t consistently lifted upward and instead focused on the hard circumstances around us, we will miss all of this. We will miss the abundance that is this life God has graciously blessed us with.
Is life hard? Yes. Is it extremely hard some days? Absolutely. But be encouraged today that He has come to allow us to live in abundance.

Scripture to Read ///

”The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 


“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” John 11:25, 26

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.” Ephesians 3:20, 21

1 comment:

  1. BECKY!!! yes, YES, & yes!!! write it, girl...this is it...I see a book, here. Inspire ALL the mommas....THIS struggle is so REAL. Love you and your ever so real words...

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