I recently loaded the book Hope for the Weary Mom, Where God Meets You in Your Mess by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin onto my Kindle. It has been sitting there for a while. Well this week after a very very long and stressful day with my girls I fell into bed and wanted to read a new book. I went to this one for the first time and thought. YEAH I AM WEARY. Lets see if this is going to make me feel miserable about that or help me.
Chapter 1: Why God Meets Us in Our Mess. Stacey writes this part and is talking about her mess including the mess inside her heart. The God has used mothering to break and mold us. His hands are still at work as He isn't finished yet.
I was getting through this chapter pretty well thinking Yeah this sounds a lot like me. I can relate to so much of it. Then she had the following prayer in the chapter and as I read and prayed tears began to fall down my cheeks.
Lord,
Today, I want to honestly admit where I am. I am tired beyond the normal. I am a wary mom who needs a fresh encounter with you.
Please work in my messy heart. Make it a place where you love to reside. Fill it with Your presence and begin working on the inside who you want me to m on the outside. I believe You want to do more that I can possibly imagine. I invite You to start right now.
I know it will not happen overnight. I might take two steps forward and two steps back. Thank you for walking with me Jesus and being patient with me. Thank you for making me a mom in the first place. My prayer is that my family will be the first to see hope at work in me.
Amen
Wow. Thanks Stacey for putting this in the book. I was so blessed by this prayer.
This is just a sampling of the chapter. If you a a weary mom like me please get this book.
Now onto the tuff stuff the Study Questions at the end of the Chapter
1 Do you ever feel like the older you get, the less organized you become? What do you think contributes to this phenomenon?
Oh yes this is me. And I can tell you right now what I think makes this happen. It is called having 5 daughters. I get so distracted and loose my train of thought all the time. I had to get up early before them just to have the quiet I need to organize my thoughts to write this today.
2 What does the mess in your heart look like?
I promised myself I would be very honest in writing this and not hide anything. Otherwise it would be pointless to go through this process. My heart is very messy. I don't even know why God would bother with it to be honest. It is so messy that I have a hard time finding time for Him. That doesn't sound right at all but it is true.
3 How does it make you fell to know God cares more about working on your heart that He does changing your circumstances?
Well this is something we all need to reminded of. But does God really put me in these positions through out me day in order to change me heart. YES He does! I always want to think if my kids just behaved better then I would be better. No the Lord is trying to teach me many things I am sure through these 5 daughters of ours. They are each very different and bring very different things into our lives. God is certainly using this to work on my heart.
4 Does it help you to know that Hope for the Weary Mom was written by two moms in the trenches? Not professionals, not moms on the other side of the journey, but moms in the midst of the mess just like you?
Yes it does because after reading some of this book it doesn't make me feel bad it makes me feel like I have a chance to get through this time in my life. Us moms need this type of support in our live. The kind where people don't try to hide their messes but are honest about them. If you feel the same way please comment to me on this post!!
5 When was the last time you honestly admitted to God how weary you truly are? How do you think He would handle the news.
Well I prayed the prayer above during this chapter and felt really bad. Then as I was praying I began to feel a burden lifted. Oh forgot to say that at the time I was reading this I was going through my nightly wrestling match with our 2 y.o. It was late at night as usual and I was exhausted. But as I read this prayer with tears running down my cheeks she became quiet all of the sudden and fell asleep. Thank you Lord for that moment of seeing that you are listening to my heart felt prayers. I think His response is him saying "Dawn it is about time you asked me for help in dealing with these things. You should have known not to try to do this on your own."
Well that is all for this first chapter. As the first of the girls has crept out of bed and is seeking my attention.
Please if you feel the way I do and can relate at all to anything above then you need to get this book. Follow this blog and lets talk. I mean real honest talk.
