Look Up, Child.

It's happening all around us, yet, we are blind to it as we turn our gaze inward.

Look up. 

Mamas are drowning... exhausted by the weight of motherhood and flooded schedules. There is no time for being a mom because life has handed us too much. The laundry is piled high, toys are everywhere, and frozen pizza and corn dogs is usually what's for dinner. Dance class, soccer practice, co-ops and events flood the calendar and there is no time to focus on what really matters.

I look around at my dearest friends: you know, the ones I am supposed to be doing life with..."my village"? They are exhausted, not sleeping because of screaming babies, grieving deeply because they have lost a child or loved one, juggling children and jobs because they can't afford to live without the extra income, battling health problems that affect daily life, struggling with self-worth, being eaten up by depression... the list goes on....

We bottle up our pain and OH, we Mamas...we march on.
We take one step at a time, exhausted by the battles we face. We struggle along quietly as we bridle our feelings and try "oh so hard" to stay strong and unwavering in our storms. We don't look up for help from our Creator and we don't look up to see that we are all in this together.
We hold ALL that weight and eventually we can no longer go on as it begins to crush who we are, what we believe, and how we love those around us.

Question. What happened to bearing one another's burdens? It has become a thing of the past. We have lost our trust and have been let down too many times to count. We have embraced the mindset of  independence to a level of absurdity.
There is no time for encouraging because we don't want to offend, no time for leaning on someone because we feel as if we are "expected" to keep it all together, and no time for trust because we don't want to get hurt or someone to think badly of us because of our struggle.
Do you know what this means? Satan is winning, girls. Don't let him win.

Oh sister, STOP. Break down those walls. Let your sister in but also be there for her too. Look up and look around... we have a village... we have a community.... we have a family.

First, give it to God... your Creator and your Maker. He knows the hairs on your head, the hours you slept last night, the pain you are feeling whether physical or emotional. He knows your financial status, the next bill you are about to receive, and the next blessing He will bestow.
Matthew 11:28 says: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 
I don't know about you, but that sounds magnificent. Rest and peace? And all we have to do is look to the Father?

I'm going to encourage you today. This is something I have challenged myself with.

Maybe you are harboring a grudge towards a sister who has hurt you before. Be gracious and give her another chance... she is struggling too... you may not know what she is struggling with because you haven't asked or tried but I CAN ASSURE you, she is. We all are. I didn't say you have to tell her your deepest darkest secrets... but don't ignore her. Love her. Relate to her. Be real.

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 

Also, stop comparing your trials to others. What she is going through may not be as bad as what you are going through...... at the moment. But that's just it.... she's still struggling and you can either be there for her or judge her.... and I know what kind of friend I don't want/want to be.
2 Corinthians 8:13-14: For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 


Be real, be you.... This? This is life. This beautiful, messy and sometimes gross (I have a 1 year old boy....and there is regularly unidentifiable substances involved) chaos.... this is it. There is not the option of pausing or suspending the forward movement of life. Theres going to be trials. Grieving and heartache will never go away. It goes on... and you don't have to do it alone!
Look up, child.