Christian’s 1st day of kindergarten was yesterday. We planned for him to go full day, but realized that it’s best to go ½ day until he gets familiar with the new school, teacher, routine, etc. He had a VERY rough day! I knew that ½ day was better for him, but because of my selfishness I wanted him to go full day. Pastor Piper preached on Philippians 2:4 on Sunday which says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” I was definitely only looking to my own interests in this situation. Here are just a few of the thoughts that were racing through my mind.
· For 6 ½ hours, “I” will only have one child to care for!
· “I” will have a break from Christian’s daily issues!
· “I” can’t wait for my free time; “I” have so much planned!
So, even though I knew what was best for Christian, “I” wanted my way. With Christian now going for just 3 hours, my plans had to drastically change. That is very good for me because I was definitely depending on temporal circumstances to bring me solitude, relief, & joy. My friend, Christina, encouraged me by saying, “God will give me just the right amount of refreshment to carry on”. That statement reminding me that God is the One who gives refreshment. All rest, joy, & peace come from Him. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28. It doesn’t matter how circumstances go or plans change, God will provide all that we need when we need it. We must trust Him!
May each of us find all that we need in our all sufficient Savior.
5 comments:
Thanks so much for sharing this. This is when I love blogs -- people being transparent and in the process encouraging others with their honesty. I didn't realize until this post that I think you are part of John Piper's church. My husband and I attended a Racial Reconciliation Seminar several years ago led by a pastor who I'm now wondering was perhaps your husband. It was really good, and we definitely enjoyed it. We went with my parents who lived a couple of hours away at the time.
Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your heart in this post.
Our lives sometimes seem like a suspense novel. There are chapters. Some of them are longer than others. Sometimes we jump right into a new chapter. There are unexpected (to us) twists in the story. Sometimes there's an in-between chapter that we weren't expecting. And sometimes we never get to the chapter we thought was coming.
But the wonder of this "book" is that it was written by the Master Author--every page, every paragraph, every sentence, every phrase, every word.
Psalm 139
3You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
This author is like no other--he knows the beginning and the end and everything in between before he ever "writes" each particular book. He never edits or rewrites.
16 in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
How blessed we are when, like you Caryn, we recognize God's handwriting, instead of wishing for a different turn in the plot.
Thank you so very much Caryn for your honest, God-exalting posts! They minister to me tremendously. I am a mother of 3 from Montreal, Canada. My youngest twin boy (2 years) is facing the challenges of autism and consequently, has no language yet. God is teaching me so much through this. I am tackling (with the help of the Holy Spirit) my ugly pride, my selfishness and my fleshly desires. Even though we have no Christ-centered English churches here and no Bible studies or discipleship groups, I am growing tremendously through the ministry of Desiring God and women such as yourself who share from their hearts and from God's word. Did you know when you posted this that you would be such a wonderful encouragement to someone in another country?
Blessings to you and your beautiful family. Thanks for allowing God to use you to touch my life.
I am relieved that Christian gets to spend most of his day at home. The love of a mother is like no other and you can care for his needs better. My prayer is that God will provide respite for you on a daily basis. Love, Mom
Thank you for all your encouraging words! They truly blessed my heart!
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