There was a time in my life where I wanted to spend my life doing international missions. I had a youthful desire for adventure and living an extraordinary life. I wanted to travel several times a year, or maybe just stay there for extended periods of time. For a moment, I thought things like getting married may interfere with the dreams I had for my life. 

But that all feels like a distant memory now. Life has changed a lot since then, and the margins of my life feel so narrow. Being a wife and mom and employee and all the things consumes much of my days. Sometimes I wonder what big thing am I doing? Am I changing the world like I once hoped to do?

Can I share something with you that I read in Scripture that I have probably read 100 times before but all of a sudden felt so profound? Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”. Paul says here that our good works are prepared beforehand by God. And what do we need to do? Walk in them.

I think we spin our wheels sometimes wondering if we’re doing enough. We agonize over our narrow margins, and how we seem to no longer have time for the things we used to. But one thing we CAN do is consider the good works that might be already prepared for us today. A conversation with a coworker, a person who needs help at the store, a frazzled mom at soccer practice, even being snuggled up with our kids before bed. These things might not look as glamorous as we once dreamed, but they are still good and meaningful and opportunities to share the gospel and make disciples. I don’t mean that we should never consider how we spend our days and hours, but let us not be discouraged in busier seasons. Maybe the extraordinary that we once envisioned is actually just extra ordinary. 

It reminds me of this quote I read once:

“I expect to pass through this world but once;
any good thing therefore that I can do, or any
kindness that I can show to any fellow-creature,
let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.”

So, as you travel through each day, consider the good works already prepared for you beforehand. Don’t miss being a minister of reconciliation in the mundane everyday. Your klds will grow up, your margins will once again increase, your work may look different then. But you’ve got good works to do today. Prepared for you by God. Walk in them.

For just a couple months, what feels like just a moment now, I held my third baby. It was hard to let go.

A few months ago, my husband and I found out we were expecting our third child. It came as a shock since we had been told just a few weeks before that we would most likely never conceive another child. But here we were, surprised and anxious and excited, and we couldn’t wait until we could share the news. But that day wouldn’t come. Instead, we would have to share the news that we had a baby, and that we had lost it.

It’s hard to know how and what to share about our experience. In my grief, I knew I wanted to share because it was something that I wanted to be able to freely talk about. It was a way that I wanted to honor the brief life of our child. I had a baby that this world will never know.

I trust God, the giver of life. And I trust the story that He is writing in this, too.

I would later find out that the week I had lost the baby was the same week that I taught at our women’s retreat through Hebrews 12:1-2. In that time, I taught that the race set before us may not always be what we would have chosen or planned. When I said that, I thought of my friend who had just lost her dad that week. I looked out at the women listening and thought of all the things they had endured in their lives. But I didn’t realize how timely it would be for me. Little did I know that a race was being laid before me that I would need to run.

I pray that I have and will run this race faithfully.

I miss my baby.

Selah.

Abraham is a man who is commended in Scripture for his faith. When God called him to leave his homeland, all that he knew, and his reputation behind, Abraham (Abram at the time) responded with obedience. He trusted that God would do all that He promised.

Even when God tells him that He will be a father of a multitude, of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, Abraham believes God although him and his wife Sarah are old and childless. And one day, Abraham and Sarah welcome the child of this promise, Isaac.

It seems that the Lord has been faithful to fulfill all that He has promised to Abraham. Until one day… Abraham again hears God call out to him. But this time, God asks him to take his son Isaac up a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. Not knowing all the details, Abraham responds again with obedience and prepares for a lengthy and heartbreaking journey with his son. He did in fact offer him as a sacrifice, but God stops Abraham from doing any harm. God tells Abraham that this had been a test of his obedience, to show he fears God above all else.

Abraham trusted God above all – even above His own fulfilled promises.

When God calls out to Abraham this last time, “Abraham!”, Abraham responds with “Here I am” (Genesis 22:1). Abraham is ready for the call of God, and He is ready to respond with obedience.

Each day, let us start by telling God, “Here I am”.

Before we tell our phones, “Here I am”. Before we tell all our tasks, “Here I am”. Before we tell our worries, “Here I am”. Let us start by looking to God, the one who fulfills all of His promises to us, and say in obedience, “Here I am”.

My reading plan has had me reading about the life of David the last few weeks, and we’ve gotten now to David’s commissioning of Solomon to build the temple in Jerusalem. David tells his son that it was on his heart to build a house for God’s name, but he has shed too much blood in war in his lifetime. So, he instead commissions his son, Solomon, to build the temple. And he provides Solomon with great quantities of materials and an abundance of workmen for the task.

After telling Solomon all that he has for building the temple, he says to him, “Arise and work! The LORD be with you!” (1 Chronicles 22:16).

Today, on this Monday, I pray that we hear this command to us as well with whatever the work is in front of us. We all have work to do today. It may be a job, it may be taking care of our house or family, it may be serving others in the community. Whatever it is, there is work before us, and we have been given all that we need to do it for the glory of God.

So this morning, as you look ahead at your day and you week, hear the command of the Lord: “Arise and work! The LORD be with you!”

Last week, my son got sick with a virus that had him down with a high fever for several days. As a result, my anxiety was through the roof. It was hard to see my son so sick for so long. But anxiety is nothing new. Each week, or day, the anxiety I feel decides what it will focus on. Last week, it was my son’s health. Next, it may be a relationship in conflict, it may be my own health, it may be the uncertainty of the future, it may be the current cultural climate or tragic current events or….. it could really be just about anything. And a lot of those times, the thing that I am anxious about is not a reality. It is the possibility of a reality. Of something that may be true one day, but is not true today.

Last week though in my Bible reading plan, we read Psalm 53. Verse 5 says, “There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror!” And there I was – afraid when there was nothing to fear.

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Jesus tells us here not be anxious about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t really the comforting truth I want to wrap around myself! But for the believer, we can be comforted. Because we know that what Jesus said right before this in Matthew 6 is also true – we are always under the gracious care of our Heavenly Father. He knows all of our needs, and He cares for us. 2 Corinthians 1 says that He is the God of all comfort who will comfort us in all of our affliction. And so, we hold tight to this truth and this reality, and what Jesus reminds us of in Matthew 6 is that the trouble of tomorrow is not the trouble of today. We need not worry about something that may be a reality tomorrow but is not a reality today.

At the end of the book of Philippians, Paul writes, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (4:8). So, I remind myself to consider what is true and think on those things. I remind myself not to dwell on things that are just not true today. And trust the God of all comfort who cares for me. We are always under His gracious care. And so let us live casting our anxieties on Him, and do not live like we are in great terror where there is no terror.

You know how there are some things as a child that you don’t realize you misunderstand until you revisit the idea as an adult? The phrase “prepare him room” sung in the Christmas carol, Joy to the World, is one of those for me. I would sing it as a child and not really understand what it means. I grew up in South Africa where one of the primary languages spoken is Afrikaans. And in Afrikaans, “room” is cream – like whipped cream. So, without fully realizing it, for some reason as a child I thought these lyrics meant to prepare whipped cream for Jesus. Santa gets his cookies, Jesus gets his whipped cream. Facepalm.

Obviously, as an adult, I have a much better understanding of it. But it is so important to consider this idea of preparing Him room as we enter the Advent season. Our lives already have a fast pace to them. It seems sometimes that we are moving a million miles a minute. And as Christmas approaches, sometimes we move even faster. Working to prepare for guests, buy gifts, attend a thousand Christmas parties and events. It can be really easy to find ourselves barreling toward Christmas, and not pausing to prepare.

But today is December 1st, so take some time today or this week to prepare Him room. Room in your schedule, room in your heart and mind, room for your family to anticipate Christmas coming. Find ways to slow down this month and be filled with wonder at the good news that the promised Savior came as He said He would and will come again.

Here are some resources I have chosen for our family this year:

Here are the links to the above resources:

Good News of Great Joy by John Piper (Amazon)

Family Advent Guide 2021 by Lifeway Kids (free download)

This is a season of great anticipation for the believer, so I pray as you look ahead at this month, you can find ways to slow down and reflect on God’s goodness and His faithfulness to do what He has promised.

I have been feeling extra overwhelmed lately. There is just a lot going on in life. The usual busyness, decisions to be made, a lot of emotions. We’re in a bit of a tough season of parenting, trying to navigate those challenges. I have found myself on several occasions totally overwhelmed by it all.

It’s not like me to not know how to get a grip on it all. This season is really no different than many others that have come before. But, I am having a much harder time tackling that heaviness that begins to build as things pile on.

The other day as I was scrolling social media, I saw a post that said – “If you could give this chapter of your life a title, what would it be?“

Here are some things I thought would have been first to come to mind:

Overwhelmed.

Uncontrolled chaos.

The one where the kids won’t listen.

But, that’s not what came to mind.

Instead, this is what immediately popped into my mind: They were all together.

It was a reminder I needed.

This season may feel overwhelming, having little kids can feel exhausting, juggling the demands of life can feel almost impossible. This season, as hard as it is, is the one where we are all together. We won’t always be together. One day, a kid will move out. Then another. And it will just be us.

So, this chapter. It’s the one where we are all together. I’ll miss this crazy, overwhelming season. Because in this chapter, I was with the people I love the most.

When I was younger, I always had a habit of checking in on myself. I would think, “Does it feel like you’ve lived ten years? Yes. Okay, then you’ve got a good grasp on time.” And then I would say, “Does it feel like you’ve been alive for 16 years? Yes. Okay, then you’re not letting life pass you by too quickly.”

“Does it feel like you’ve lived 20 years? Good.”

But then one day that changed. “Does it feel like you’ve lived 28 years? No?”

“30? No.”

“34? No.”

Time started to slip past me. I lost my grip on it.

It’s not surprising. You hear this all the time as men and women get older. “Where has the time gone?” We passed through it, and yet, it slipped by.

These are years – and days – I want to hold onto, but I can feel them slipping past. As time always does.

These years where my daughter says “crowdy” for crazy and rowdy, “frote” for frightened, and “cuttle” when she’s begging for cuddles. When my son says “not yet” or “tomorrow” when he doesn’t want to do something in the sweetest little voice I wish I could bottle up. For interrupted sleep with a tiny, knobby knee in my back and an arm around my neck. For constant whining to be held.

A day will come where there is no knee in my back. No whining to be held. No one begging for snuggles. And time, as much as I try to hold onto it, it’s slipping by. And while I know the future holds a joy of its own, the joy of today is being carried away into the past.

So, tonight. I’ll snuggle for a few more minutes. I’ll count the seconds… 1…. 2…. 3…. try for just a minute to hold time steady for a moment. Hold on to today’s joy and treasure it deep in my heart. Before time, as it always does, carries it away.

Tonight, I am grieving the things we have lost this year. This year gave me some unexpected blessings. It gave me extra time with my kids. It cleared my schedule when I was feeling overwhelmed. But I’ve also felt the loss of many things.

Tonight, my daughter was dancing like a ballerina to a song from the Nutcracker. It reminded me that last year we were able to take her to the ballet. We were able to see her eyes light up as she watched the dancers, the costumes, the lights, the set. This year, we will not be able to do that.

The world is not as it should be.

Every day, I kiss my son goodbye through a mask. The world is not as it should be.

My kids use their toys to pretend to scan their foreheads. The world is not as it should be.

One of my best friends had her baby at the beginning of the year, and there’s no telling when I will be able to meet her. The world is not as it should be.

I wasn’t able to see my nephew in the hospital when he was born. The world is not as it should be.

And some days, this all feels so heavy.

There is still light, and promise, and hope. But there is also heaviness. A heaviness that I am not sure how we will carry.

Yesterday, I ugly cried.

You know when you are walking into a moment that you know could make you emotional but you feel pretty good about your ability to hold it together. And then all of a sudden you realize that there is no way you’re going to hold it together.

That was me yesterday.

I went to say goodbye to my friend and give one last hug before she left for her flight to the other side of the world, so she can finish a journey she’s been on for the last four years.

And all I could think about on my way home is about how brave these people are that I know. My friend that has fought to bring a daughter, her daughter, home for half a decade almost. When I look at that, I think Brave. But I also look at my friends that have to put their hands to the plow every day providing for their families with their heart aching for the babies they kissed goodbye on the way out the door. Brave. My friends that are preparing to send their husbands away to defend our country and theirs. Brave. My friends that every day face their same struggles believing that there may be a day when they finally can claim victory. Brave.

And then there’s me. Me, afraid of things that aren’t even realities. Me, scared to make the wrong decision. Me, fearful of a wasted life.

I hope in all these ways, these friends are teaching me how to be brave too.

I have always loved in Scripture that we are commanded to take things. Take heart. Take comfort. Take courage. Written as if these things are always available to us if we just reach out and take it.

And so, I hope that in both the big things and the small things, my heart would take courage. Courage in uncertainty. Courage in decisions. Courage to live a full life. Brave. Brave like my friends.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

Psalm 31:24