Nothing has stretched my faith more than parenting, and this week I'm getting a really good stretching.
Yesterday I put my three boys on a bus heading to church camp in California - without their cell phones. This is good for them, but hard for a mom who is used to talking to her kids every day when we are apart. They will get home on Friday, but I won't be here, because I'll be in North Carolina at She Speaks. So that means a full week without seeing my boys.
Normally I wouldn't worry at all for their safety while at camp. But this is a new camp, and they have a beach day. I know this sounds like lots of fun to most people, but I view the ocean as a huge death trap. I never relax at the beach when my kids are in the waves, and am on constant guard, often walking up and down the shoreline like a one of those long-legged birds.
God has dealt with me about this fear because at its root is a lack of trust. Every time that fear starts in my belly and threatens to work its way up, I have to take a deep breath and declare again who I trust.
Obviously I don't trust myself for their safety - I'll be 3000 miles away and their dad is 350 miles away.
While I'm praying for alert and savvy adults to be around, I don't completely trust the counselors for their safety.
While I'm sure there are great lifeguards, I don't completely trust the lifeguards for their safety.
While I'm praying my kids will stay with a buddy, I don't trust other children for their safety.
But I do TRUST GOD WITH THEIR SAFETY! The truth is that only God can be where I can't.
You can be sure I'll be praying this week for my children's safety. But that's not my only prayer. Above all else, I'm praying that God will bring my boys to a new place in their own faiths. A place where they move from a "head" trust and faith, to a "heart" trust.
Come to think of it, that's what God's trying to do in me this week ... again.
I'll be leaving first thing Tuesday morning for She Speaks. I can't wait! If you think of it, please pray for my kids, and for all of the travel for those of us heading to North Carolina and especially for the She Speaks conference. I want God's presence to be felt in every space and for hearts to be touched.
In His love,
Glynnis
Monday, June 16, 2008
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14 comments:
I have the same problem...nobody (on Earth that is) is as capable as we are at doing things. But God can handle anything. And we can trust Him. I just wish we were better at doing it.
Praying for you!
Rebecca
Again Glynnis this has spoken to my heart.
The question I'm facing right now is in what/WHO am I placing my trust? In the size of the airplane? (It's a small 50-seater.) In the pilot? In the mechanic who services the plane? OR in the character and competance of my God?
The words to a praise song are going through my head: "My life is in Your hands."
"Life can be so good. Life can be so hard
Never knowing what each day will bring to where you are.
Sometimes I forget and sometimes I can see
that whatever comes my way You will be with me.
My life is in Your hands
My heart is in Your keeping
I am never without love, not when my future is with You.
My life is in Your hands
and though I may not see it clearly.
I will lift my voice and sing, cause Your love does amazing things
Lord I know my life is in Your hands.
Nothing is for sure. Nothing is for keeps.
All I know is that your love will live eternally.
So I will find my rest
and I will find my peace Knowing that You'll meet my every need."
Trusting Him and praying for you.
See you soon.
Joy
PS. Thanks for the encouraging comment you left on my blog. Claiming victory!
Glynnis,
I will be praying for your boys this week and also for you. That you will have peace that God is in control and knows even better than you what your boys need.
I have been and will continue to pray for She Speaks as well. I pray for safety as you all travel, but also that God's spirit will be there in an incredible way. I look forward to hearing all about it when you all return to your blogs.
Blessings,
Pearls
Well I gues its easier said then done, but To have extreme faith that God will provide and take care of you and your family is a BIG relief!! If you truly have this adoration and the willingnes to serve our Lord then thats it no more worries. I still have my worries but we cant let it control us, our emotions are the biggest obstacle to letting go, and truly trusting and believing that we have a provider that will never leave us or forsake us as long as we "BELIEVE". God Bless you and the rest of the ladies at the She speaks conference!!..
Ruth
I'm leaving my girls for the first time (ages 4 & 8) and I am more nervous about that than meeting with 1 million agents or publishers! So prayers for your boys & my girls and YOU & ME as we trust God and struggle through together.
I am feeling today l like I am standing at the side of the ocean and I can feel a huge wave approaching. I sense the POWER of it!
I know that it's the Spirit already descending for the SHE SPEAKS conference. I can feel Him, Lysa and the P31 group! He's waiting for each and every woman to walk through those doors, and P31 ladies,
God is so very PLEASED with each of you!
See you there! I'll be the introvert wondering around looking for coffee!
I am without my youngest son (age 6) for two weeks! I am going crazy and do not know what to do with myself. He is staying with my parents at the coast and I know he is well loved and watched over there with them, but deep inside, I was leary of sending him on that trip without me. It is hard being a mom and letting them go. Knowing God is their ultimate keeper makes it easier, though. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone in my feelings of anxiousness when my kids are seperated from me.
See you Friday at She Speaks!! Can't wait!
Blessings,
Starr
what an eye opener to me for some of my fears. We can trust in him, why would we doubt that. your encouragement has encouraged me - we are all in this together.
Praying for your journey!
Nancy
Glynnis, with She Speaks put to bed for another night, I can testify that your time away from your boys was worth it! I trust they came home safely and had a wonderful time.
Thank you for praying with me tonight. You prayed over my business and my marriage and that my attitude about my home would change, that I would return to it tomorrow filled with the fruit of the Spirit. You said "you didn't know why you prayed that." Well, I can tell you why! I have been dissatisfied with my home for some time, not because it is lacking but because it is plenty... too plenty! Too big, too hard to clean, too much yard work. I tried to cloak my discontent with syrupy spiritual language by saying I just wanted to "be a good steward" but my husband clearly saw my complaints for what they are. Ouch.
But God is so good that even in the midst of my complaining He is also blessing our work with new clients and great ideas that will be a blessing to others we may be able to hire to implement them. And yet, instead of remembering that the blessings of the Lord make one rich and He adds no sorrow with them (Pr. 10.22), I view the work as a distraction and a bother. I pervert God's blessings into excuses and idols. I tell myself, "I can't teach or write or serve because I have all this WORK to do!" But what I really mean is, "If I don't do it the bills won't get paid because I'm my own provider instead of God and anyway, isn’t it a great excuse for not doing the laundry?" Ouch, again.
I'll be home from She Speaks tomorrow for only a few minutes before leaving for MY week at camp, as a cabin counselor not a camper. But when I return to my beautiful home and my forgiving husband and my bountiful work, it will be with a new heart and a new Spirit within me, and new friends to pray me on. Thank you for giving us your time away from your family as you poured your wisdom into ours.
In Christ,
Amy
I had similar feelings last weekend. My husband was home, I was in Denver speaking at a conference, and my kids were at church camp. It was unsettling before I left, but a special grace seemed to prevail during the actual time we were scattered from one another.
Hi. I just wanted to comment on She Speaks. I was the woman who was going to walk out of "Working from Home" session. I would have had I not been sitting in front. About halfway through I felt The Lord tugging at my heart to get my priorities straight. My kids are my ministry, the rest can wait a while. Oh, I also smelled like room deodorizer ( vanilla ). I bought your working form home book and can't wait to get going on this adventure.
In Christ,
Kate
kalaw@altrionet.com
Your devotion on P31 today is a perfect message for each of us after She Speaks. I could so relate to what you said...
"I wonder if He ever calls us to obedience without showing us the path we will travel, or the end result, just to see what we will do. Kind of like a test. Will we obey without a road map?"
How easy it is to look for the path, when what God wants us to look for and see is HIM, with each step of obedience.
Thanks so much for your tireless servant heart as you lead the writer's track this weekend. The way you love on and lead women like Jesus is so much a picture of our Father's heart.
Oh, and I really enjoyed Sonny's on Sunday. Wish I could've sat near you so we could have visited more. We'll have to plan that next time!
Hugs,
Renee
I keep telling myself that I am the responsible one. If something happens I am to blame. If the something is serious, then I have to sit by the bedside, hold hands and wipe away tears. I am not a good nurse. I shout out my prayer to God constantly, "I believe! Just help me in my unbelief."
Glynnis, I really enjoyed your devotion today about not knowing where the path will lead but being obedient anyway. I attened the She Speaks conference out of obedience to God's call not knowing where the path will lead. I have just finished 8 years with BSF and God has called me to "Be still and know Him" so I am so excited to do this. Whenever my "be still" is up I will be ready to go where God sends. It is nice just to be still and love God. This will be an amazing time for me just to be in God. Thanks for you uplifting devotion!! Tanya
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