Strong Enough

Today's guest blogger is my friend Menie, also from Lubbock! Or, as we also like to call her, the pink-haired woman. :) Yes, I am totally jealous of Menie's amazing hair!

So, today's post is Menie's reflection on the life God has given to her. Read on and be encouraged!

You were only given this life because you are strong enough to live it

You know, I have the most amazing life – and the people in it – that anyone would be jealous of! I have friends that love me and my kids. I have a family – as dysfunctional as it is – that is always there for me! I have the two most amazing, God-filled children any mom could ask for!

Yet at times I just want to pull the covers up and never come out. At times I ask God why me? Why is THIS my life? Why have I gone through all that I have? Why do my kids have to feel so much pain and loss? I have my pity parties. I have my moments, days, weeks that I just cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel. I look in my children’s eyes and see the pain and loss – that breaks my heart! I cannot fix it. I cannot take it away. I cannot erase it! All I CAN do is hold them, love them, pray with them and reassure them God is in control and God will always take care of us.

I wonder at times why God can’t control free will? I wonder why I pray for protection, for me and my kids. I wonder what the purpose is if there is free will and God can’t change that. I know He walks with me, holds my hand, even carries me…but why can’t He protect my babies from the pain? Why can’t He protect them from the harm? Then he comes at me with the baseball bat – this one is padded – and reminds me – free will. And I realize that if He controlled everything, there would be no sin. There would be no pain, no hurt, no loss. And there would be no choice to follow Him. No choice to strive to get to heaven. Then I realize there would be no reason for any of this. We would still be in the garden...

I have to remember that God IS in control...

I have friends/acquaintances that tell me they don’t know how I do it. They are amazed by my strength. I am not. I had children. I knew when I had them that my entire life would be spent protecting, loving and teaching them the way to an eternal life with Him. Am I strong? Maybe. Is it a choice? NO! I realize that I could crawl in the bed, pull the covers up and deal with my troubles that way. However, I also know that my kids rely on me. That I am all they have. Without me how will they learn? Learn how to treat a woman/man, how to love, how a woman/man should treat them, how to be productive in this world, how to laugh, how to pray, how to get to heaven, what the important things are, that the devil will creep in and suffocate the life out of you, how to fight free will, how to protect themselves… and a million other things. I gave birth to them, God charged me with their lives, their protection. Who am I to say to Him – HA you were wrong – I can’t do this.

I am not strong – I just have no other choice. I don’t do this – He does.