I love my full and blessed life. My children and husband are answers to my prayers. So why do I often struggle with being discouraged? Why do I feel overwhelmed? Why do these feelings of insecurity come and go on a regular basis? What about living and walking in peace? I don’t want to be that stressed out mom! All the while, I endeavor to show my joy for all those looking on. The enemy wants us to drown in defeat–to rob, kill and destroy our joy–and the worst part is, many times, I let him.
When you don’t give yourself grace, you can’t give it to those you love.
The control freak within demands unrealistic expectations from everyone in my world, even me. When you find yourself exhausted and feeling like you’re not good at anything, you have to remember that when you don’t give yourself grace, you can’t give it to those you love. We all drown.
When I feel overwhelmed, I have learned just to take one day at a time, one hour at a time, one moment at a time, one step at a time. Just do the next right thing. I do not have to “eat the whole elephant at once,” but just bite by bite. God’s Word is a “lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV). This implies that He gives guidance for our next steps. The very next steps. Just one step at a time.
If I can turn off the noise of the moment, remember that God is still on His throne, that I am loved, and that He is a good, good Father, then I can take a deep breath of the Holy Spirit and exhale all of my selfish ambitions. I can bow low and yield to the thought, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” And finally, I can step into the peace that He offers and lay down my anxious heart. Yes, Lord! May it be so! Walking with You just one step at a time through any anxious moments.