Moments That Matter

Do you ever have those {selfish} moments when the people in your life just get on your nerves? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be real.

Now that we have that clarified, we can move on.

When my daughter was less than a year old, I was at a gathering of a few young mothers and their kiddos. I had a conversation with one of them that has always stuck with me. She was a little older than I was and had, I think, three children at the time. She had been dealing with some issues and hadn’t been feeling well. I remember her saying to me that her children had really been getting on her nerves. I was shocked. Not because I believed this never happened, but because I didn’t think she, in particular, would ever feel this way. Just to be around her, she seemed to me, like one of theses extraordinary people, who never was bugged by much of anything, let alone her own family.

This conversation made me realize that no matter how we appear on the surface we’re all dealing with stuff and feelings. We are all very much alike. Some struggle more in an area that others may not, but we all have struggles no matter what it looks like on the outside.

Even knowing this, I still go through times when I feel like I’m the only one.

• I’m the only one that gets annoyed at interruptions.
• I’m the only one who gets impatient.
• I’m the only one who feels like I’ve done an awful lot of failing.
• I’m the only one who gets snappy with my husband and kids.
• I’m the only one that gets caught in the net of selfishness, again.

Satan like to lead us to believe we’re alone. He likes to isolate us and make us feel like failures. He likes to get us believing that we can’t do the works God created us for. He loves to get us comparing ourselves to others. He likes to make sure that we think the grass on the other side of the fence is greener. Get us bogged down in the poor me attitude. Or the I-don’t-deserve-this attitude.

I do make a lot of mistakes and I do have too many times that I act very selfishly. But in spite of my self, God’s abundant and unending grace covers me. 

I’ve enjoyed recording happenings in our week ever since I started writing Hello Monday posts. One way it has blessed me is by focusing on the fun moments, the good times, the things we’ve enjoyed. When I write a post or when I read an old one it reminds me of all the things that I enjoy and love about my family and life. Sometimes we get so bogged down with the mundane, the un-enjoyable things, the ways we’ve messed up, that we forget to notice the good parts. The moments when I did get it right. The moments when His Spirit and His works that He created for me to do, were fully and freely flowing from me. It’s easy to think that to be doing a work for Him, it has to be something really awesome or great. In my role and for many of us, some of our greatest works are simply the everyday tasks that we do for others.

I too often forget that I can’t see the big picture the way God can. I can’t see how the small things that we do or a few words that we share encourage someone else. I’m sure the mom who I was talking to, over twelve years ago, does not remember our conversation. But I do, because it made an impact to me. All she was doing was sharing her very real feelings and at the time she just needed to be able to do that. I understand, because I’ve been there too. Sometimes we need a listening ear and the reassurance that we aren’t alone in our struggles and emotions.

And glory to God! He doesn’t leave us alone. Even at times when we feel alone or we feel like we’re the only one who ____________.

God also provides. A listening ear just when we need it. A note from a friend. The exact Bible verse. An encouraging article. A phone call. A smile. A chocolate bar. 😉 A hug. A fond memory with a wave of thankfulness. A simple whisper to our hearts-“Daughter, I will never let you go. You are my handiwork. I prepared for you. I planned for you. I love you.”

 Ephesians 2:8-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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