Peeling

So, last night was kind of a rough one for me.  At around 2am, my coughing eight-year-old called for me. Loudly.  So I jumped out of bed and ran to her room, where she let me know that she felt like she was going to throw up if she coughed even one more time.  Thankfully, that did not happen.  But I did hang around for a while before returning to my own bed for another four and a half two and a half hours until my toothless wonder of a five-year-old came in for some help opening up the toothfairy pillow to see what she had gotten for her second lost tooth.  After helping her find the money her and sending her back to bed, I had exactly thirty minutes to make up for much of the night's sleep that I had missed.  And this morning is not much better.  Having made a vow to God that I would get up early to spend time with Him and give Him my day before the rest of my family awakes, my faith was challenged this morning.  And I did it.  And. I. am. tired.

Which makes it more difficult to seize the day and make the most of what I'm doing whenever I am doing it.

Because when my body's all rested up, and I'm all rearing to go after a good night's sleep, it is so much easier to live.  I mean live like Jesus designed me to live.  With gusto.  With purpose.  With joy.  With His strength.  For His glory.  Making the most of every opportunity (Eph. 5:15-16).  But days like these challenge my inner fibers in a way that makes me realize the truth of who I really am.  And the things I truly rely on to give me the gusto, the purpose, the joy.

Because the true meat of who I am shines through on days like this.  Unfortunately, it takes some tough peeling away of the stuff I think might give me that real life in order for me to see that only God Almighty, the very Author of Life itself, can provide life as it was truly meant to be.  And that just stinks.  Well, today it does.  Because the peeling is hard.  And I am tired.  (See paragraph #1.) 

But the truth underneath -- the truth of who I am in Jesus Christ ALONE -- is beautiful.  And that is where I need to live.  In that truth.  Whether my body is tired and my kid is sick or I get 12 hours of sleep and I'm feeling great.

The truth is that I am who God says I am. 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

Ephesians 1:3-8,11-12

The truth is that I was chosen to bring God glory.  To show off Who He is.  "For the praise of His glory."  Every day.  By how I live.  Every. Day.  Be it after a good night's sleep or not.  And the truth is that the only way I can do that is by letting Him do it.  By relying only on Him as my real Source of any of that true kind of life.  The only way I can show off God's glory is by letting Him peel away and reveal all of the non-truth things that won't get me there, even when I think they might.

So when I wake up in the morning after a not-so-good night's sleep, I still have joy.  I still have strength.  I can still make the most of every opportunity.  I might have red eyes and stay in my pj's all day, but I can still live with that kind of life if I do it His way.

Now, to just let the rest of my day filter that truth.  Then maybe I can get a nap. ;)

And while I'm napping, maybe you could let me know how you make the most of your opportunities as a mom.  Just one way that, today, you can show off Who God really is to your children by living like He wants you to...