The Toolbox of the Creator

THINK

"It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do."-- Anne Lamott

I love this image! A toolbox, assembled by the Creator, full of what we need to get along through life.  Our friends are in that toolbox and we have to be open to seeing the value of the rusty, old tool. It is with gratitude and humility that we lift the tools from the box and go about the business of improving ourselves.

PRAY

God, let me listen more than I speak. Please, please let me truly hear and truly connect and truly, truly understand. Let me recognize that the relationships in my life are my tools for self-improvement. And let me be a worthy tool for my friends as well.

ACT

Spend some time thinking about the people God has used for your good in your life. Send a thank you to someone who has befriended you. Actually put a stamp on it and mail it. So rare is the handwritten note that it has a special thrill attached to it.

Motherhood can feel like the loneliest vocation in the world. Surrounded by children, who frequently bring us to our knees, both literally and figuratively, we can be overwhelmed by isolation. Mothers need community. We can be community for one another. We can encourage on another and hold each other accountable. If you like these short devotions, please share the image and send another woman here. And when you're here, please take a moment to pray with another mother who is visiting. Leave a comment and when you do, pray for the woman whose comment is just above yours. Just a moment--blessed--will begin to build community.

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

Dark Nights

My baby turned six last week.  Six.  She reminds me that it takes two hands to show her age now; the five fingers on one hand are not sufficient. She is my last baby. I know that now. I have spent much longer than most women in the baby-loving days of my life. There is a full span of 20 years between my new 6-year-old and her eldest brother. And there are seven children between them. That’s a lot of baby holding, a lot of baby rocking, a lot of time celebrating milestones like the day you finally need two hands to show an inquirer your age. One would think I’ve had my full.

And I have.I am filled to overflowing with the memories of warm, heavy heads of wispy curls asleep on my chest. I am filled with hours of wrangling car seats and perfecting carsickness prevention and coping strategies. I am filled with countless dark nights beside a child, coaxing her to sleep while willing myself to stay awake so that I can live in a grownup world for a few moments after she succumbs. I am filled with mornings begging grace and night times pleading for strength. I have lived this season to its fullest.

And still.

Still, as I watch my new 6-year-old finally sleep, I have the audacity to wonder about God’s plan. He creates a mother to fall head-over-heels in love with a child. He weaves a bond so tight and so true that she cannot imagine life without this small person in it all the time. She cannot imagine how one can become a mother, grow into motherhood, and then, one day, not have a child. All of them grown. How strange will be the days with no children in them.

All of this learning, growing, becoming — it’s not only the child who has done it all; it’s the mother, too. She has grown into herself in a role that is only adequately captured in the word “vocation.” All this becoming someone — and when she finally seems to fill the role completely, the house empties. The one thing that a quarter-century of parenting teaches: The present moment is fleeting, and the season of goodbyes is long indeed. They leave. They stop telling people their age using their hands because they don’t have enough fingers on both hands. And then, they go.

What’s the point, exactly?

The point is that mothers spend their babies’ childhoods drawing closer to the Creator. It’s the only survival strategy. We learn to lean. We learn we cannot — absolutely cannot — parent alone. We need Him. He is faithful. Sometimes, His parenting strategies aren’t immediately understood. But He is there, and He is wise and He is love. So do we worry that as the children go, so will He? That seems unfathomable, but that’s really what our desire to hold on to a season is, isn’t it? It’s the fear that the next season will be dark and cold. It’s not trusting God will continue be the good parent alongside us even when the house is still and quiet.

The truth is that in the sheer terror that comes with the letting go, the way we worry for our children and the emptying of ourselves, God rushes in. All the moments of mothering He’s done alongside us all these years gives Him credibility. We recognize Him because we’ve seen Him previously. He is swift and sure in the nights, not once bumping into doorknobs or wincing as feet strike errant Legos in the dark. He’s good at dark nights. He comes alongside in the black and gathers us into strong arms. He is the only sure shelter in the moments of stark realization that no matter how many children, this is a fleeting season, and we are ill-prepared for the swiftness of change.

It’s OK. Don’t be scared. God is there. He’ll stay with you until you rest easy.

Don't Face Trouble Alone

THINK

"But it does not seem that I can trust anyone,' said Frodo.

Sam looked at him unhappily. 'It all depends on what you want,' put in Merry. 'You can trust us to stick with you through thick and thin--to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours--closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo." --J.R.R. Tolkein, The Fellowship of the Ring 

Trust. Friendship is founded in trust. Can I trust you to hear my heart? Can I trust you to love me anyway? Will you really, truly be my friend?

PRAY

Thank you for the gift of friends. Help me to meet my friends where they are and to love them as I want to be loved. Jesus, let me be a better friend.

ACT

Call a friend today. Don’t text her—call. Better yet, if you can, meet her for a face-to-face, honest to goodness, real live chat. Soak it in. Be fully present. And thank God for the gift of friendship.

Motherhood can feel like the loneliest vocation in the world. Surrounded by children, who frequently bring us to our knees, both literally and figuratively, we can be overwhelmed by isolation. Mothers need community. We can be community for one another.We can encourage on another and hold each other accountable. If you like these short devotions, please share the image and send another woman here. And when you're here, please take a moment to pray with another mother who is visiting. Leave a comment and when you do, pray for the woman whose comment is just above yours. Just a moment--blessed--will begin to build community.

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

Love is Hard; Give Freely

THINK

"Love consists of a commitment which limits one's freedom - it is a giving of the self, and to give oneself means just that: to limit one's freedom on behalf of another."

~St. John Paul the Great (Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility)

Love is hard. No doubt about it—it’s not all sunshine and roses. Love is a choice, a decision, a daily denial of self on the behalf of someone else. We freely choose to limit our freedom, to sacrifice in order to serve. It’s rather amazing isn’t it? The capacity for human beings to give and bless one another?

PRAY

God, I am so grateful for all I have to give away to the people you have asked me to love. Help me to be aware of the opportunities to serve and grant me the grace and strength to take advantage of every one.

ACT

Someone needs you today. Someone needs a few moments of undivided attention, or a chocolate chip cookie baking afternoon, or a backrub. Someone needs you to set aside what you want to do and do something better – for both of you. Give freely.

~*~*~

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here Monday and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

Winner! St. Luke's Brush Giveaway

Oh happy day!  Judith has won the St. Luke's Brush Advent giveaway. Judith wrote: 

“Oh my, how lucky - or blessed! I have been struggling with an issue and everywhere I turn I come upon Isaiah 55:8-9. “His thoughts are not our thoughts...
Hoping and praying I win. Thank you, Elizabeth.”

Judith, please email me and so I can connect you with the good folks at St. Luke's Brush. 

It's  too late to order before Christmas delivery. I know, so sad. All these dolls are handmade and art takes time. Easter is early this year, folks, so if you had your heart set on one for Christmas and you procrastinated, order for Easter baskets right now while you're thinking about it!