“To grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in their blessings.”

“To grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in their blessings.”
But 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Pregnancy makes me feel like a wimp. With only seven weeks to go, my body can no longer do the things it used to be able to do. I can just barely get my feet close enough to my hands to tie my shoes. If I squat to dig something out of the fridge or the back of a cabinet, I have a hard time standing back up. Walking around the mall wears me out and makes my hips and back hurt for a couple days. I'm not sleeping well because I can't get comfortable because no matter what position I lay in, I can't breathe very well. (Of course, the breathing thing isn't helped by the fact that I have a cold right now.) And then there's all the uncontrollable crying...
But I don't think this is the kind of boasting in weaknesses that Paul was talking about (it is, after all, more of a rant than a boasting), but this verse does resonate with me right now. In the verses preceding 2 Corinthians 12:9, he mentions a thorn in the flesh, and in the previous chapter he talks about being beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, in danger, sleepless, hungry, thirsty, and cold. (Hmm..sleepless and hungry? I can definitely relate to that! And when the baby moves just right, I feel like I'm being beaten from the inside....)
All of Paul's trials and weaknesses happened so that the power of Christ would be seen in him, and so that God's grace would be sufficient--would be enough. God's grace was all Paul needed. "My grace is sufficient for you," God said in response to Paul's prayer that the thorn in his flesh would be removed.
And His grace is sufficient for me, even as my body gets more unwieldy and less comfortable, and as my fears about mothering grow (more sleepless nights along with sleepless days?!). I find myself leaning more on these words, and reminding myself of them. "My grace is sufficient for you."
What trials are you going through? What makes you feel weak right now? God's grace is sufficient for you, too. Even when everything in life seems like too much to deal with, God's grace is unchanging and is always with you.
Father, some days are harder than others. Some days I feel so weak and inadequate. It is on those days, during those times, that I rest in your grace. Carry me through and be my strength. Let your grace be enough for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
“When morning gilds the skies, My heart awakening cries, May Jesus Christ be praised. When evening shadows fall, This rings my curfew call: May Jesus Christ be praised.” (LSB #807)
My youngest daughter “sings” with us as part of our devotion time each night. Getting a twenty month old to sit still for a hymn, bible reading and devotion, and family prayers is tricky, but we have been working on it for awhile now, and she is doing it. Well, most of the time. On one occasion recently she was knowingly being naughty, so Daddy had a little talk with her, and when Daddy brings out the stern voice, even I could burst into tears. He spoke and she sobbed, but sobbed…and sang, “May Jesus Christ be praised.” Sniffle, pouty lip, sniffle, tears, “May Jesus Christ be praised.” Deep, shaky breath, tears, sniffle, more tears, “May Jesus Christ be praised.”
I have to admit, she was crazy cute, but she was also a great witness to me that day. Now that the school year is well under way, the newness of our home school adventure is wearing off. Some days the kids love that they get to spend every waking moment with their mom, and other days they miss the bigger classroom environment and of course they really miss their friends. My husband and I have no doubts that our decision to offer our children a Christian education was the right one, but I understand their tears and as their mom, my heart aches for them. Sniffle, tears, hugs, more tears, “May Jesus Christ be praised.”
A woman from our church lost her husband in a terrible accident not long ago, and as often happens following a funeral service he has done for one of his members, my husband received in the mail a few days later, a thank you note. “O, the Lord is good,” she wrote. Sniffle, tears, unknowable sorrow, “O, the Lord is good.” Questions of, what now? Why him? And, how will I ever? “O, the Lord is good.”
We will not find in this life a time when all is right with the world and we don’t have any reason to question or worry. But, we do find a God whose compassion and love for us is beyond measure. So when we feel like crying, we do, and then we sing. We sing to the God who knows our struggles. We sing to the God who knows and provides for our needs. We sing to the God who delivers each one of us through sin and sorrow to the peace and restoration that is ours in the arms of our Savior.
That is the God we praise. That is the God we proclaim as good even through the tears.
Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
“Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
Isaiah 64:8
Both children were sick. The baby came down with it first, and for her the virus came in the form of a very high fever that lasted for 3 days, while the 2 year old had a low grade fever and was a sniffly, sneezy mess. My husband was working long hours at the hospital, and I was largely left on my own to care for our 2 sick babies. Days were long, nights were short, and my patience was wearing thin from the lack of sleep and from fighting the bug myself. “Lord, please, PLEASE, give us all a good night’s rest tonight, and heal my babies from this illness,” I would pray. It seemed as though God had other plans. Clearly I had something to learn from this difficult time.
When we become parents, it is our hope that we can teach our children the things they need to know to be successful in life. We hope that we can help to shape and mold them to be servants of Christ. What I didn’t realize was how much my children would be teaching me! Have you ever seen a potter at work? Sometimes he beats and kneads the clay, while other times he hardly touches it as the clay takes shape. So many times I have been the clay in God’s hand as He has squished me and squashed me through my experiences as a mom in order to turn me into something useful for His kingdom. God is using my children to teach me more about His love for us. He is using them to work on my areas of weakness, which have now become so clear through this vocation of mothering. There are times when I feel like I’ve been beaten up and times that I didn’t even realize the work He was doing until it was already taking shape.
Parenting is hard. Really hard at times, but it is also such a beautiful picture of God’s love for us and likely the closest thing we will experience to that on this side of Heaven. During the difficult times, we can rest in the fact that God is using those struggles to shape us and mold us unto the disciples He wants us to be.
Father, We can thank you for the challenges we face as parents because we know that you are using them for Your good. We also thank you for all of the wonderful times we have with our children because it reminds us of how much You love us. Most of all, we thank you for sending Your only Son to save us from our sins so that we may have eternal life with You. Amen.
To listen to, "You Are The Potter, We Are The Clay," the sermon that inspired this post, Click Here.