Thoughts for Thursday: What He Really Asks.

It has been eight weeks since our little guy was born.  Today while driving up the hill, after dropping off my daughter [late] for preschool, the thought came to me how crazy life is right now.  I started thinking about the last year and realizing that everything about this last child has been harder than I imagined.  Honestly I figured it being our 5^th child, God would make it really easy on us.  But the pregnancy was one of my hardest, his birth was definitely the most challenging, postpartum has been a roller coaster physically and a consistent and “normal” life continues to feel out of reach.  As a small (yet important) caveat I will say that emotionally and mentally I’ve never been better after having a baby.  I told my husband tonight that it feels like there is a veil of patience and calm over me.  Daily situations that would have completely overwhelmed and upset me have barely been ruffling me.  That being said, things do feel challenging and it got me thinking.  Perhaps this time round really is the hardest because God is taking things up a level.  He is giving us opportunities to stretch & strengthen us.  A well-known story came to mind that I wanted to share here:

Once upon a time, there was a man who was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind such as: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" To this the Lord responded compassionately, "My child, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.

And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition, you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my child, will now move the rock."

Source unknown

I imagine that God isn’t asking us to move what seems like a rock to me--to have the house in order, a consistent schedule, all homemade meals, the kids to bed on time, each of us showered & presentable every day (yeah right!) and all our proverbial ducks in a row. (Thankfully, because they weren’t in a row BEFORE Asher was born ;0))  But He is asking us to keep pushing and trying and giving it our best.  I’m gratefully reminding myself that our best doesn’t look the same as any other family, our best changes from day to day and our best involves lots of do overs, U-turns and trying again.

So whatever the rock is in your life, keep pushing and trusting that God knows best.  From time to time notice how God’s grace keeps it all from breaking you and instead how much stronger and more capable the process is making you.