Oh, It's morning alright.

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God”

One of those mornings…

Have you ever had one of those mornings? The ones that something happens and because everything else that is going on just compounds the issues into a heavy weight that breaks your back?

That was my morning. 

Our kids are now in middle school and we have to get up an hour earlier than last year. So this year our day starts in the 5 o’clock hour. Within our two hour window, while my kids are getting ready, I am making coffee, making breakfast for everyone, and helping make lunches. My daughter and I are on the ketogenic diet, so I have to make lunch special for her. As I’m making the homemade ranch salad dressing for her salad, I open up the spice cabinet and a nut grinder falls out and spills cinnamon maple pecan grounds everywhere. It isn't even supposed to be in that cabinet! And guess who’s breakfast it lands on…mine. And guess who drops the salad dressing I was making because the nut grinder knocked it out of my hands? Yep. Me. So there are ground pecans everywhere, oil from the dressing everywhere, and I just break down. Full on sobbing. My husband looks at me with this look of frustration and gets mad at my reaction. We proceed to fight (yes, we fight sometimes, like all NORMAL people) because I feel the weight of the world on me right now, and he says he is shouldering all the burdens of this family. Well that definitely made things worse. Then, the bus for my kids, which is supposed to run at 7:22am, shows up 10 minutes early. And they miss the bus. Thankfully my husband was able to drop them off at school. 

It’s been a long few weeks. I have so many responsibilities on my plate, so many errands to run, mouths to feed, therapies to coordinate, laundry to do, all while fitting helping my parents into the mix. Needless to say, my house is a mess, laundry isn’t folded, floors need vacuumed, and I have NO time for myself to recharge. 

“No rest for the weary.” Such a popular saying. And it is so true. But is it supposed to be? No, it’s not.

We are to “cast our cares on Him.” (Psalm 55:22) We are to go to Him for rest. (Matthew 11:28). We are to let HIM carry our burdens. (Psalm 68:19)

Why is this so hard to do? Why do we sometimes feel that God isn’t helping with our burdens? 

Well, have we REALLY given everything to Him? Have we done all we can to give God control of our circumstances? How much have you prayed about it? Is God telling you that His “grace is sufficient”? Paul had a “thorn of the flesh”. He prayed 3 times for God to take it away. God said no, His grace was sufficient for Paul. Is that what we should be leaning on? Are you leaning on the grace of God? Peace can only come once we surrender to the grace and will of God. Our problems in society, our circumstances for the most part, won’t go away. But with God, His grace is sufficient. Our trials and valleys will come. The storms will rage. But His grace is sufficient. Remember who commands the storm. Remember, “Peace. Be still.” The storm died down. He says this same thing to us, His little storms raging, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. But are we being still? Are we shutting our mouths, shutting off the rampage in our minds, and listening to God speak peace? I know I’m not. I am trying to fix everything myself and then questioning God on why he ain’t showing up and taking my burdens. 

I've got to listen better. How about you?