Piece by piece, you are being stripped. You are being taken. You are being pulled apart.
That one quart of kindness.
That one ounce of patience.
That one spark of energy to complete a task.
And when you feel like you have nothing left to give,
your husband comes home.
He needs a piece of you too.
And when you have drained your last drop and place your head on the pillow at night, you wonder if there is anything left of "you"...
And before you begin that sorrowful story in your heart, before you begin that party of pity, let us recognize the biblical truth.
And before you begin that sorrowful story in your heart, before you begin that party of pity, let us recognize the biblical truth.
That this-- dear reader, is a moment of glory.
That this-- my weary pilgrim, is a time of triumph!
For you have been living in service to Him! Yes, finally, dear friend! There is less of "you", more of Him. Less of that fleshly "me", and more of Him!
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
~ John 3:30
"I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..."
~ Galatians 2:20a
"Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
~ 1 John 3:16
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service."
~ Romans 12:1
This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays, The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Painting by Jules Emile Saintin.
Wow, that is such an encouragement. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteOh JES, how did you know that I needed a reminder? Thank you for blessing little old me :)
ReplyDeleteJust so true, Jes!
ReplyDeleteHi Jes,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through Annabel's. I am enjoying reading your past posts and wonderful information. Your blog is a blessing. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and I am glad to "meet you"! Annabel's blog is such a blessing to me :)
DeleteGreat Article!!
ReplyDeleteI would love it if you could please come over and join us on the Homesteader Hop. It is a new blog hop that runs every Wednesday! Please come by and share up too three of your articles. It is FREE traffic to your site!
https://www.floydfamilyhomestead.com/2016/05/04/the-homesteader-hop-1/
All the above, but we wouldn't have it any other way. :)
ReplyDeleteThat painting is a real gem as there is so much to consider in it. I'd love to know if her dress is dupioni silk or not. It drapes like satin though. I wish all the old paintings were accompanied by the complete story behind it.
Have a great Wednesday!
Oh my...yes! I so needed to read this. I will be passing it along to a friend too. Very uplifting and encouraging!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day Jes!
Hugs, Amy
Beautiful and so true, JES. Thank you for this wonderful encouragement. Love, Kelsey
ReplyDeleteThis brought me to tears today. This is my first morning on a commitment to rise two hours before the children. God bless you..and know the Lord has used your post.
ReplyDeleteMrs.O
Well said!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Leigh
You just popped all the balloons at my party! Thank you! ;) Pity parties aren't very much fun anyway. It's usually just me, myself, and I. I will remember these words next time I feel like there's nothing more to give. It's a blessing to be able to go about His work all day. There should be a sense of great accomplishment and thankfulness that we had the energy to give, even if it is down to the last drop some days.
ReplyDeleteThank you, JES...that's an answer to my prayers, then ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, how very timely.I had a small party today. Just me, myself and I. A pity party :( God bless you and your blog ministry.
ReplyDeleteA word in season. Thank you dear sister.
ReplyDeleteOh I so needed to read this!! You're full of so much wisdom. I'm so glad God directed my path to your blog.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully encouraging! Thanks for giving of yourself in this post yet again.
ReplyDeleteOh joy of joys! To know that I can spend that last ounce because He is my spring of living water, the well that never runs dry. May I never be tempted to conserve my last strength, and never reach into his inexhaustible supply.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this.
What an inspiring and encouraging post, my Lovely lady, I always find the comfort I need here, I'm so very grateful to you for this !
ReplyDeleteMuch love ...
Dany
Such a wonderful reminder! Thank you! All for the glory of the Lord Jesus!
ReplyDeleteGod is always ready to give us a little more, a little more, always enough....
ReplyDeleteThank you for this much-needed encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThe only difficulty with this -- often this isn't reciprocal and I've seen tons of women drained and sick because they truly cannot give anymore without someone stepping up to the plate to give a little on their end. This is not sustainable. There needs to be balance in all things. This is unbalanced giving, and it cannot be sustained without someone eventually becoming very, very sick. This is a problem that I see with these blogs all. the. time.
ReplyDeleteI have seen it happen with people loaded with energy and enthusiasm until finally one day they are so ill they can't function anymore. Please be aware that there is a balance in everything, and women are not bottomless fountains. We cannot keep going without being filled, and we cannot live only on Scripture alone....we have health and relationship needs as well.
Yes, I agree! I have written on these topics as well. I am just sharing some encouragement for those rough days. There is other food for thought shared here on this blog pertaining to what you are saying such as:
Deletehttp://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2015/01/five-simple-steps-to-healthier-life-and.html
http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-blessings-of-old-fashioned-work.html
I will continue with my comment on your other comment below regarding exhaustion... With love, JES
Sorry my comment published before I was done -- an example is homeschooling, which I've done from the beginning because my husband wanted me to, and now with a ton of grade levels, I cannot keep up. When he talks college and scholarships, I know clearly what's expected of me. I cannot do it all, and it's crushing. Believe me, the number of times I simply want to jump off and never be seen again is huge. No amount of praying out to the Lord has helped relieve that burden, and it is crushing me more every day. I simply cannot keep up. In order to keep the peace at home -- my mouth has to stay shut and I am to be meek and quiet with a smile -- it doesn't always work. God preserve my energy enough to get these kids into something productive in life.....
ReplyDelete(This comment is continued from above)
DeleteI am assuming by what you write that you desire practical encouragement. My heart goes out to you. Not knowing your whole situation, may I share some things "that I have seen happen" (I will borrown your quote ~ smile ~). There are certain personalities that tend to be perfectionists and put too much on themselves and who have a hard time delegating. For instance, I don't know the ages of your children but with multiple levels that you wrote about, I am assuming you have some which are old enough to cook meals and clean up meal preparation.
For example, in our home, we don't do the "homeschool norm" and have a million "good things" done in our morning schedule (I have seen many people share their amazing morning devotional routines with lavish family breakfast but this will not benefit our home and will only bring burn out no matter how wonderful it sounds). Our breakfast consists of smoothies, healthy oatmeal muffins or hard boiled eggs. Items that anyone can grab, say a prayer at the table with while spending quiet time on their own to read Scripture (or look at pictures if they can not read) in the morning. This frees me to relax with a cup of coffee and some encouraging reading myself along with planning my day.
I cook and clean up after one meal a day, the other meal and clean up is done by a child member in the family (breakfast as you recall is a buffet). Folding clothes and putting away has been delegated too. We will get burned out if we try and do everything. Many hands make light work and we must train our children to be helpful citizens in the home. Perhaps they won't do "great" in the beginning but practice makes perfect. You may have to deal with a less than clean bathroom for a while but that is a part of the challenging time you are in -- raising and homeschooling multiples right now.
I also want to mention homeschool curriculum. Some are just downright difficult! Companies such as "Queen Homeschool Supplies" provide wonderful workbooks that are practically hands off for mother which really frees your time. If you feel like you are doing too much, you probably are. My thoughts are please delegate more. Children are capable of helping way more than we often allow. God give you the wisdom to manage your home judiciously.
Here is a bit of something that may help your homeschooling a bit too ~
http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2015/04/unschooling-grace-for-overwhelmed.html
With love,
JES