SCRAPED THIN
Sitting here in prayer for all the beautiful women in my life… God has blessed me with a life filled with amazing women: my mom and sister, the women I’ve coached over the years, my three precious daughters and their sea of friends, the incredible community of women that social media has brought into my life, my various small and Bible study groups, and the dear friends who have made me laugh until I pee, grieved my losses, celebrated my wins, and supported every bit of my crazy.
I pray the women in my life know my kitchen and my heart are always open, my shoulder and my ear always ready, and I pray they know how grateful I am for their trust and their example.
This morning as I pray, my thoughts keep circling back to how many women have reached out to me that are struggling this season.
it's been a hard season
The rhythm of our lives disrupted by so much that is beyond our control. A cultural climate sowing seeds of fear, worry, and division. A world that seems to change faster than we can prepare ourselves and our families to face.
As women, we not only carry our own emotional and physical burdens but also those of everyone we love. As women, as we juggle to carry the weight of it all, we are often unaware that we are being scraped too thin or, worse, drowning as we keep others’ heads above the water.
Often in this world, when we find ourselves scraped thin or struggling to keep our head above water, we are told to pursue self-care. And, I am not against self-care--BUT, self-care will never fill an empty cup (let alone to overflowing). Self-care is good.
God’s care is immeasurably better.
I write quite a bit about seeking God first so that women know their worth and see themselves through His eyes. I write to remind women that no matter their season, they are His image bearers:
complete
beautiful
known
loved
But, in this very odd hard season, my prayer for you--as you carry the weight of your world--is to know this simple truth:
YOU ARE HIS BELOVED CHILD
Your Abba adores you. He desires nothing more than to bear your every burden and carry you through every hard season. God is so good, you can trust that he is always a step ahead, making a way:
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” Isaiah 45:2
I pray you always remember His arms are wide open, waiting for you to run into the comfort, strength, and shelter of His embrace. I pray that you get so deeply into His Word that it gets into you in a way that it is your ever present armor, shield, and sword; that through it you experience the fullness of His love and are satiated, refreshed, and renewed.
Close your eyes.
Take a moment in the midst of whatever is scraping you thin or pulling you under
and
breathe in the pursuing, perfect, love of your Abba, Father.
As you do, I pray you experience the love and grace of God’s care, which:
fills in and strengthens all the thin places
lifts you above the water
I pray today and everyday that you know:
YOU ARE HIS CHILD AND THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.
SEEK GOD’S CARE
EXHAUSTED, WEARY & IN NEED OF REST
“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jer 31:25
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:28-29
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
WORRIED, FEARFUL & IN NEED OF PEACE
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:19
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7
IN NEED OF HIS STRENGTH
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor 12:9-10
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7
HOPE IN A VALLEY
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
TRUST THAT YOU ARE SEEN & KNOWN
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me, You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139:1-18