Powerful chapter. I gotta dive right in by sharing a quote that I sat and pondered over and over since reading it:
“Unfortunately, many moms have entered the battlefield of motherhood and are totally unprepared, untrained, and ill-equipped for the job. I know I was. And many have not understood that home is a battlefield where sin and selfishness must be overcome, and that the taming, subduing, and civilization of a home will be to a woman’s honor.”
It’s completely true. I was not prepared to be the one in the home at the forefront of a battle for my children’s hearts and minds. I did not really even understand there was a battle.
“We live in a fallen world, so things will always tend toward disorder, children will always cry, and you will always sin, but God gives you grace and the Holy Spirit to make it through. When life tends toward disorder, go straight to God and ask Him for His grace to walk in the Holy Spirit.”
This chapter was all about contentment. Learning contentment in the moment is one of the most powerful steps to wholeness as a parent. There is ALWAYS something not right. There are dirty dishes, or dirty looks, or dirty diapers. There is trash, or a lack of cash. There is a husband who works too hard, a child who cries too hard, and a mattress that is too hard. We could live in the chaos of this thing we call life and spend every moment of it finding fault, being disappointed, and struggling with our own selfishness.
OR
We can look around and say: “This is normal. This is good enough.”
That does not mean we stop caring. It does not mean we don’t do the dishes and the diapers and the dinners and the date nights.
It means we accept what really is- and from that starting point, improve what we can using the resources we do have.
We can straighten, and clean and decorate with very little. We can make a corner of the house a tiny sanctuary with our Bible and a blanket. We can smile at a tired toddler instead of sigh. We can paint nails with our teens. We can greet our husbands with joy instead of sternness when they are late.
And when all that seems too hard- and yes, sometimes it does seem too hard, we can lean further into the Father. Pressing ever closer to his side. And ask him for just a little light to get through the step we are on.
In the application section, the question arises whether I can relate to Paul from scripture when he says, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Oh, yes. I can totally relate. I still have areas where I sin and fall short- every single day. But the difference now is that as soon as I recognize the sin, the Lord gives me the grace to remember to flee it- to turn away from it. I don’t have to finish the sentence, finish the thought, or finish the deed. I can change course, change the thoughts, and change the words coming out of my mouth. Praise God, he works in me, and at times makes it easier than it used to be to change course.
Ready to see what I said on Chapter 5?
http://www.homemaking911.com/2013/10/07/desperate-by-sarah-mae-chapter-5/
Want to see earlier chapters?
