| Through A Woman’s Eyes: Encouraging Words |
Martha Hynson
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It came up in conversation at the dinner table last Sunday, that I never taught my son, who is twenty-eight years old, to fold laundry. I can’t deny it because he really doesn’t know how! At least that’s his story and he’s stickin’ to it. After dashing my hopes of being Mother of the Year, he hastened to add that, even though I had fallen short in the laundry department, I had done all the “important things” right. Well, whew, that’s a relief. So, if you don’t count putting laundry away properly as important, I’m still doing okay.
A few days later, I was on the phone with my daughter. As we talked, she was sewing patches on my grandson’s Cub Scout uniform. This brought to my mind the fact that in some drawer, somewhere in my house, is a pile of Girl Scout patches that my other daughter earned during her scouting days, which I never sewed onto her uniform. Oops! I may have let that one slide just a little too long. She’s now in college. I’m not sure how important that was, but I guess we’ll leave that call up to the counselor she’ll probably be seeing one of these days.
I don’t know how it is in other families, but in ours the same stories get told over and over when we get together and many of them seem to center around me and my blunders. It looks like someone might retell at least one story that highlights me in a moment of brilliance. After all, I did do all the important things right. Instead, somebody always brings up the time I forgot to pick my daughter up from school. I mean, how important is that?
My days of hands-on parenting are over but, unfortunately, I still mess things up on a regular basis. I’ve learned through the years, though, that when things go wrong, God wants to encourage me. Many times, after asking Him for encouragement, I’ve been totally blown away by his answer. So, not long ago, as I was going through a tough time, I prayed just such a prayer. I opened my Bible during my quiet time, fully expecting my spirits to be lifted. God’s Word for me from my daily Bible reading was Jeremiah 30:14. I read, “…your sins are many and your guilt is great.”
I did not feel encouraged. In fact, I said right out loud, “Lord, You have hurt my feelings.” I thought perhaps He would explain that I had misunderstood and that I was actually doing a fabulous job, so I read the next verse. But no, I’d heard Him correctly and, just to make sure I understood, He repeated Himself. Verse 15 says, again, “…your sins are many and your guilt is great.”
The only conclusion I could come to was that encouragement just wasn’t what I needed at that moment even though I sure thought I could use some. I felt even worse than I had before I’d prayed, but then I began to sense God speaking to me in that sweet way that only He can. He assured me that the verses I had read were exactly what I had asked for. I needed to take encouragement in the fact that I can do absolutely nothing right on my own. The only way to have true peace, I sensed Him saying, is to stop looking at myself and learn to rely on Him like a little child.
The truth is, I didn’t do the important things right, but it isn’t about what I’ve done or not done. It isn’t about me at all. In every way it’s all about Him and what He has done. Whatever I’ve done right is totally by His grace, and whatever I’ve done wrong is covered by His grace. “You blew it, honey” he seems to say. “But it’s okay. That’s why I came and died.”
I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a mom, or anyone else for that matter, who doesn’t feel regret and guilt over things she has done or not done, so here’s a word of encouragement, “Your sins are many and your guilt is great,” but keep reading because, in the very next chapter, verse 34 tells us that He will never again remember our sins. If you’ve asked Him to be the Lord of your life, it’s no longer about you. It’s about the only one who really has done all the important things right. The only thing we really have to do is trust Him.
mhynson1@gmail.com
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