Jesus Provides Beyond What We Lack
I didn’t realize I was a person who struggled with change until I became a parent. I enter each new phase with nostalgia in one hand, pushing back with the other. Our oldest is sixteen, and sometimes, I miss the little years and earlier bedtimes.
This current exhaustion differs from those sleep-deprived nights, and I prefer the latter, occasionally. The stakes feel higher. I struggled when our oldest started high school a couple of years ago. There is a nagging weight the closer we get to launching him.
Questions linger. Have I been doing this whole parenting gig, right? There are things I wish I’d done differently, yet I’m trying to be intentional with the time I still have today. It often feels like I’m fighting a losing battle. Life gets busier the older the kids get, and I understand just how fleeting time is.
I rearranged our living room a few months ago at my husband’s request. When we moved into our house a few years ago, I wanted something aesthetically pleasing. The open layout meant no seating directly parallel to the wall with the TV, and he’s complained about it ever since. So I took one for the team and moved the couches. The room feels smaller, but it’s been a gift.
The time we are all at home together happens less and less these days, but when we are, the family seems to congregate in the living room a little more—filling the worn couches between walls that echo and silence all the same.
The reason it took me so long to move the furniture was the same reason I find myself struggling with each new season of motherhood. There is a stronghold, and I’m incapable of prying my fingers from it, fighting myself as much as others. But time slips even through pried hands. So I move furniture, tweaking what’s needed.
How do we stay intentional in the ever-changing areas of our lives?
“And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” (Matthew 15:35-36 ESV)
I love this story about the thousands who came to hear Jesus one day. They arrived early and stayed through dinner time; everyone was hungry, but there wasn’t enough food. What a great reminder that all we can do is offer up the loaves and fish we have, give it all to God, and pray He multiplies all we couldn’t, all we lack – especially in parenting or when we are struggling and feel like we are not enough – when we’re tired, unequipped and defeated.
Not only was everyone fed, but the verse says they were satisfied, and there was leftover bread.
One thing we can do this week is to remain intentional in constantly changing seasons and remember that despite the little we have and the areas we feel we are lacking, Jesus can provide beyond our satisfaction.
Sarah Nichols is a writer who loves encouraging women by sharing hope-filled stories that point others to Jesus. She lives in Tucson, AZ, with her husband and four kids. You can find more from Sarah at http://sarahnicholswrites.com.
