Like most parents, you probably hit the floor running each morning…there is always so much to do and not enough hours in the day to do everything. I learned early on that having a child with special needs meant I needed to learn how to be flexible…I could have a long “to-do” list, but if my son was having a bad day, that list would go out the window. I also had to learn to be adaptable, due to my own health issues. Some days it’s all I can do to get out of bed and feed the two of us and needless to say, as a single mom, the “to-do-list” starts to really back up when that happens. It can be so easy to feel overwhelmed and out of control… like you are always behind. I know I am not alone in having those feelings.
There is one thing I’ve learned, that no matter how busy I am, how behind I am, no matter what is going on in our lives … to the best of my ability, I try to start the day out by sitting at the feet of Jesus and offering up the day to Him…asking Him to lead and guide me in all that is said and done that day. It sets the tone for the day… the day just goes better when I start out listening to Him and feeling His calming presence. Spending time with the Lord, helps me to handle frustrations better…It reminds me that when things pop up or fall apart that hinder me from doing what I had planned, I shouldn’t be upset, because I know God is in complete control. He is sovereign, and that means that anything that happens, He has allowed it to happen …this helps me to keep a Christ-like perspective of all that will happen in my day and it takes a lot of stress off of me. I do the best I can and leave the rest in God’s hands and trust that He will help me with all that I will face and He will be with me each step of the way.
It’s easy to forget that we are in a spiritual battle every day. We must start out the day putting on the armor that God has given us to protect us from the enemy’s attacks. We need to cover our children and family in prayer. We need to “suit up” before we charge off to face the world each day. God doesn’t give us strength for more than one day at a time. He wants us to come to him daily to be refilled…He wants us to see our need for Him and to rely on Him and not ourselves. His grace and mercy is sufficient for one day at a time and that is all we have to deal with…the Bible says tomorrow has enough worries and cares of its own, …but for this day, we have God’s promise that we can do all things through Christ and nothing will be impossible with Him.
We think of Martha and Mary in Luke chapter 10 and it’s clear that sitting at the feet of Jesus was what Christ saw was the necessary thing to do. The enemy is always going to try to keep us from spending time with God by hitting us with distractions and emergencies and things that will seem so urgent that we must tend to them first…but each morning as soon as possible after waking, we should try to meet with God before attempting to meet the challenges of our day. He will equip us with His strength, His power, His wisdom, His joy and His peace. I think all of those things better equip us not only to face our day, but to be better parents as well.
Here is a link to a prayer I recently posted that fits nicely with this message: Prayer
Blessings to you!
Debbie Kay
Hope For The Broken Hearted
Latest posts by Debbie Kay (see all)
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