Better than sleep…

We’ve recently adopted a little boy and are in the early stages of settling him in.  The wee man is doing well, and we are so thankful to be at this point. We wouldn’t swap him for the world!

We are also however, very tired. This is when stresses get under the skin and start to itch.  Molehills tower over the stack of dishes and dirty nappies; it’s easy to feel like everything is too much. I have no time to read the bible or pray!  But I need it. More than soft play, coffee or a 20 min kip.  And when I get it; a verse snatched between naps or bible verses sung in kid’s songs, the world is righted again.

I’m still tired. All this is still beyond me.  But God’s word speaks to me like my mum does, telling me it’s all ok.  Remember Emma, the Lord is most powerful in your weakness.  He loves to work in people who can’t do things.  He calls us out of comfort and routine.  He is glorified in the tiniest acts of service; wiping noses, buttering toast, hanging out the washing. And in the chaos and clamour there’s a strange kind of grace.  Not the kind I make for myself (ordered and comfy and within my strength).  Something deeper, that sneaks up on me.  A stillness that’s more than wanting four hour’s sleep.

I don’t know what you’re facing today.  A difficult conversation; or an angry boss.  A sickbed you can’t leave; a relationship that seems to be beyond hope. Whatever it is, the Lord is with you in it. Not after it. Not above it. In it. He does not offer us comfortable circumstances.  But He always offers us comfort in them. And just because something is hard, doesn’t make it wrong.  Often, it’s really, really right.

Image source