Comradery

2 Corinthians 11:22-28
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.


          I am so thankful that Paul shares the struggle and severe hardships he endured for the sake of spreading the gospel.  It is evident that God knows we, as humans, need to know others are like us; experiencing what we are- there is comfort in it.  

         Perhaps God wired us this way, because ultimately, He wanted us to know we're not alone.  In a perfect world where we had perfect unity with God we would not to look for comradely with people but rather find that we are not alone because He is with us.  We are not alone in our struggle because HE is with us.  How often we lose sight of that.  How often we look to satisfaction within the world rather than in Him.  We keep ourselves too busy to hear Him, see Him, experience His presence.  We clutter our thoughts with distractions of this world rather than focus on being still with Him and allowing our thoughts to stay fixed on Him.  We forget He is with us when we feel alone because we haven't allowed Him to enter into our every moment of the day.  He becomes unimportant in our business and therefore seems absent in our need for Him.  
         May we be reminded of Immanuel "God with us".  If you need more confirmation of this I encourage you to visit www.biblegateway.com and do a search for God with us and see the 65 different verses that speak to this fact.

Lord, may my eyes stay fixed on You.  May my moments of  loneliness or the times that are filled with a struggle so intense I feel as though I'm to only one enduring it, be filled with the knowledge that You are a God who is with me and You relate exactly to what I am going through.  May I find comradery in You and You alone.  But when my flesh is too weak and my faith fails in those moments, may I see other people in the here and now with whom share in my suffering.  And in seeing the comradery of others, may is draw me closer to You.

A Mama's Prayer

Lord, help me love that I am needed so
to bathe their bodies
from head to toe
or clip a bow up in their hair,
buckle their car seat,
or scootch their chair.

Help me cherish, "mama!"
being called throughout the day
to tie a shoe,
or pour a drink,
or cut up what's on their plate.

Help me to be thankful
that I am needed so
because I know their need for me
will lessen as they grow.

So as I'm needed to pick them up,
or to fix a toy,
change batteries,
or wipe a nose,
lemme do it filled with joy.

for right now it seems a thousand times
I've helped them down those steps,
or wiped their little bottoms clean,
and cleaned up mess, upon mess, upon mess.

And I can get quite exhausted
to where I lose sight of Your call
and where hearing cries of, "mama!?"
is no delight at all.

Help me never to lose sight
of just how quickly this time will fly
Let me savor being needed
and etch this in my mind.

Let my attitude
bring praise to You
every minute of every day
and be a joy and delight
for *them* as well
along the way.

Lord, help me love that I am needed so
and not grumble or complain
because all too soon I'll be missing them
and long to hear, "mama!?" again.

                     - Alana Norcross

Fire Breathing Dragon Mommy

~  Do you ever feel like you've become the worst version of yourself?  Like, if you had to pick out the worst you you could possibly think of, as a mom, a wife, a woman, and then you realize you're becoming it or have become it?  Daily, I become a fire-breathing, eyes glowing, rage roaring u-g-l-y mama.  It isn't pretty, it scares my kids, puts everyone on edge.  And then?  I hate myself.  It's like I have this picture in my head of how I want to be.  Calm, patient, peaceful.  Seeing my children the way God sees them - even in the midst of their messiness.  A mom who responds with a smile of understanding that their little hands and minds are only learning how to do and be, they haven't arrived and I shouldn't expect them to.  That they don't stress and hurry because they're not on the clock and running by a schedule.  And why should they?  They're children.  But somewhere between the door being left WIDE open, the mud being traipsed in the house, and the toilet being clogged I lose sight of that.  Lately, I've been tired.  Dog tired.  - I don't even know where that expression came from but I. am. it!  Which only seems to awake the monstrous beast to an even greater degree.  And if the beast is disrupted from it's slumber...look out!  
So I go to God.  I cry out to God to give me everything I need to be the ambassador for Christ that my kids so desperately need to see in me.  See He has promised to give me everything I need for life and godliness.  But He also invites me to be still, to meditate on Him day and night, to abide in Him, stay connected constantly to Him and be enriched and nourished by Him as a branch does to a vine so that    HE MAY DO SO and I have not been doing this.  Being still... be still... and spending time reading and memorizing His Word and praying to Him, talking to Him, is where He will fill me and equip me and show me the example that is in the life of Jesus so that I don't lose sight of what patience is, how grace pours out, and love spills over.  The truth is I am not perfect, I will have horrible mommy moments but my children will learn the beauty of humility in that.  And what admitting my wrong, humble repentance, and seeking someones forgiveness looks like.  They are learning that no one is perfect, not even Mommy, and that we ALL need Jesus!  They see I'm learning and fighting and struggling through this messiness of trusting in thy self and transferring all my trust to God.  Daily.  Moment by moment.  I need Jesus.  His UN-conditional LOVE.  Oh, how I need Jesus.  He is all I need.