Fill ‘er Up
Some days, being a mother sucks the life out of you.
Ever feel like you’re missing the mark? Like everyone around you seems to have it together? Like you need an extra dose of sanity just to make it through the day? Me too. Some days.
I don’t know about you, but it’s really hard for me to consume the amount of water that I “should” in a given day. Sometimes, I don’t really get thirsty. Other times, I’m too busy or just forget to drink throughout the day. I go hours without drinking anything, and then it’s lunchtime and I realize all I’ve had is a cup of coffee. Yikes! Not good, I know.
It’s especially bad when I go surfing in the afternoon or have a rough day with the girls. I use a lot of energy paddling (or chasing the girls around) and my head just starts pounding!
Once my body is ALREADY low on water is when I start thinking about the fact that I need it… and usually it’s too late. The headache is in full swing.
Sometimes, it’s that way for me spiritually as well.
I know I should spend time with God. When I do, I’m so grateful and satisfied… but getting there is quite the battle in my mind. If you’re a parent (or have been one) to young children, you know that getting a moment to collect your thoughts is tough. If you’re fortunate enough to find those envied moments, you have to decide how you want to spend them:
Zone out or tune in?
Work out or veg out?
Relax or do chores?
Sit in silence or call family?
Prep dinner or write this blog?
Oftentimes, if I’m not strategic, I miss my opportunity altogether.
I wish I could say that I read the Bible everyday and enjoy it. Most days, if I’m being honest, I don’t choose time with the Lord. I choose the thing that’s easiest and most fulfilling in the moment. Usually that thing for me is watching Netflix. But it’s so unsatisfying. It’s like taking a sip of lukewarm coffee when you just got back in the car from a hot day at the beach. It’s there, so you drink it… but it doesn’t quite quench your thirst.
I want to get in the Word and be satisfied in Jesus. I want him to fill me up. I know he’ll do the filling, but I have to give him the time. I have to make the time.
How can we expect to pour ourselves into our kids if we aren’t stopping to “fill our tanks?” This is when I feel most empty. These are the days I feel the life being sucked out of me. When I have nothing to give because my well is dry. I bark at Lily. I get irritated quicker. I have a short fuse. I never want motherhood to feel like this.
Would you join me in running to Jesus?
Ask him to fill you up.
Lord knows we all need it!
Strength. Energy. Motivation. Faith. Patience. Wisdom.
Here are some good reminders…
John 4:14“…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Psalm 46:1“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 118:14“The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”
Isaiah 40:29-31“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”
“I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”
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