Those few words that can feel like defeat staring you right in the face.
What a mess.
When everything seems to be all tangled up in a this is overwhelming-I can't fix this kind of way.
Difficult things happen.
Bad things happen.
Unfortunate circumstances are not always the result of disobedience, as some Christians believe.
I try to remind myself and others, when they are feeling defeated and walking through a "what a mess" situation and wondering what they have done wrong-if anything... of a beautiful chapter in scripture.
The book of Job.
Job was blameless. Blameless. He was all kinds of amazing in the sight of the Father.
But have you read the book of Job?
He did nothing wrong. The Father allowed circumstances. And plenty of them.
He uses situations and obstacles to shape and grow and mold us into becoming more like Him.
And then there are the times when quite simply...we just fall short.
Over and over again . Each and every one of us will fall short.
We all fall short of the glory...
He set it up like that. So we would need Him.
I fall short every, single day. My family will tell you.
And although I am learning and growing and doing my best to become more like Him,
I am thankful for the shortcomings.
And it is not because I want to live a life of mediocrity.
I want to live a life completely surrendered and dependent upon Him.
My shortcomings keep me close to Him.
I am thankful that I don't have to be the perfect mother and the perfect wife.
That I don't need to shine up the gold medal award for good housekeeping for everyone to see.
I'm thankful that I don't feel the need to impress anyone and that the Father stripped me of all pretense years ago.
I'm thankful that when I lose my patience some days and my children have lost theirs, we recognize it, forgive, love and start again.
We begin again.
I'm thankful that I no longer feel the need to display my splendor any more.
I want Him to display His.
Less of me and more of Him.
And in allowing more of Him...He teaches me how to love myself more, even when I fall short.
Looking back and thinking about days where I did life with less of Him...
I have fallen short in the category of relationships more times than I can count.
I've had expectations in those relationships that no one could meet, coupled with mountains of hurt and years of unforgiveness.
I fell short. Again and again and again. Years of falling short.
I've recognized this in recent years and I am so thankful that even in spite of it all - in spite of the mess.
The One who knows and who is well able to make all things work together for the good of those who love Him can redeem and renew and restore and help us forgive ourselves...
He is faithful.
He makes Himself available. He longs to pour out His love, mercy, goodness and grace.
He can take our pride and arrogance and shortcomings and lack of patience and mistakes and in offering it up to Him with a heart of repentance and humility- He can use it.
To teach us. Grow us. Change us. Mold us into becoming more like Him if we allow the process.
And out of the process He gifts us with a deep well to draw from within.
A deep well filled with Him and the gifts of His sweet spirit and the ability to do life out of a place that overflows with becoming more like Him and loving ourselves more- in spite of it all.
Love yourself more today beautiful friends....
Source for photo
8 comments:
Thank you Sibi - for sharing your heart - for reminding me of this!
I will love myself today and you do the same ok??
xoTiffany
P.S. Someday i would LOVE love to share my journey with you - such truth in what you write today, as I have learned this and I have felt His Grace rain on me and I rest in the arms of His mercy -- God is so Good!
Simply beautiful~
Thank you for such a precious reminder.
Many blessings to you and yours Sibi.
Stacey
you teach me & you inspire me
love you
this is just beautiful...
so many base their relationship with Jesus, on their daily "condition". We all "fall short" but because of the life that lived and then died on that cross--my daily "fall shorts" never affect my grace relationship! I also just finished reading the book of Job...can you say "perspective"? Thanks for sharing your "condition"!
I neede to hear these words today dear Sibi - how did you know? You didn't fall short with this post - this was perfect timing! God's timing. Thanks you thank you from a broken hearted mother who is falling short most days.....
You are truly one of my favorite bloggers. Most blogs by women seem to present a picture-perfect life that makes the rest of us mere mortals come up lacking (in our own minds). You are one of the few that has the courage to really speak honestly about real life. About the fact that faith is strengthened by its tests. About the fact that sometimes fear has more of a starring role in our lives that it ought. About the fact that it is just plain hard to be like Jesus. Thank you for taking us through your growing and stretching and reminding us that we are all in the same boat...struggling at times through our lives and with our own mental turmoil, growing to know Him better, moving our lives from Glory to Glory. Thank you. You shine so brightly!
I love this Sibi... I too fall short every single day. I am grateful that God has humbled me in the last several years to see the beauty in imperfection because I am not sure I saw in my 20's and early 30's.
I know that God is constantly shaping us all into what we are meant to be and you are so right hat when we fall....we can fall into Him. Thank you for the reminders. You really have a gift for this (I feel like I write that every time but it is true).
♥
Kim
sibi - again you share what we all need to hear. gifted my friend, such a gifted writer. precious! love love!
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