I Quit!!

There are days, I confess, I just want to quit. Where do moms send resignation letters? I parent a child with reactive attachment disorder, a toddler and two teenagers. I work outside my home and I don't feel I do the best job I'd like trying to keep our home orderly. I get frustrated, tired and generally feel like I am running on empty at times. I wonder if some things will ever change or will they always be a struggle? I know I am not the only one who feels like the weight is just too heavy at times. Still, at times I really feel really alone in my struggles. Can you relate?

So yesterday I am reading posts on one of the message boards I subscribe to and I came across this post. I don't know who wrote or I would gladly give them credit for it. Maybe you have seen it before. It really spoke to my heart and I hope it encourages you too.

One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationships, my spirituality. ..

I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I asked, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light.

I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth.

Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. "

He said.

"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit.

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.

I would

not quit." He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared

To the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. ..But just 6

Months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall

It had spent the five years growing roots . Those roots made it strong and gave

it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."

He asked me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling,

you have actually been growing roots?

I would not quit on the bamboo.

I will never quit on you.'

Don't compare yourself to others."

He said.

"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern.

Yet they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me.

"You will rise high!"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can. "

I left the forest and brought back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.

Never, Never, Never Give up.

For Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.

Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,

Tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Deuteronomy 31:6:6 "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Ferocious Motherhood

This morning the kids and I were driving to church. It is such a beautiful drive in the spring. Everything is green and the sky a robin's egg blue. We slowed to a stop at a stop sign, and as I was glancing up at the sky, I noticed a peculiar scene taking place! This tiny mama bird chasing and pecking at a big black crow. He apparently had disturbed her nest and she was letting him have it! It was so funny to watch. He was afraid of her and laboring in vain to get away from her pecking. I was so caught up in all the drama unfolding that I didn't pay much attention to the drivers behind me until I became conscious of their their impatience. Kindly prompted, I drove on, but it really struck me that mama didn't have any concept of her small size. Her instinctual drive to protect her young moved her to take on a bird at least four times her size.

Sometimes, as a mom, I look at myself in the mirror and all I see is little. Tiny and weak. I am so small in comparison to the big things that come my way and the way of my children. I wonder how am I going to take on those things? They seem so huge. They seem too much for me to handle. They seem so terribly overwhelming. Statistics, information, books, articles, the nightly news all serve to stir me to doubt and fear. Well meaning people with opinions, comments and sometimes just plain thoughtless words gnaw at my heart confirming what I already know about the limits of my own abilities and knowledge.

That mama bird served to remind me that there is Someone inside my heart that gives me His strength to overcome all the obstacles. Even the ones that seem enormous. Yes, I am small, but He is big. Yes, I am weak, but He is strong. I am a ferocious force to be reckoned with when the world and the adversary mess with my young, because of His power that dwells within me! As I have heard it said many times, it isn't the size of the problem but the size of my God. When I am tempted to focus on my weakness, I must turn my eyes to His strength.

Psalm 18:32: 32 God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.

Lord God, please forgive me for thinking for one minute that I cannot, I am unable, I am too small, I am too weak, I am not good enough.... I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me! In Jesus Name, Amen