Presence

Once again, He reminds me of how much I need His presence. “Don’t try to finish in your strength what was started in My Spirit,” He reminds me.

With His presence is power, purpose, and the removal of fear.

I am submitting myself to Him again, to complete His work, not my own.

I have held back from serving Him in fear, fear for my child and my family.
But Norah is His child.  I am merely a representative of Him in her life, to direct her not in the way that pleases me, but the way that pleases Him. Do I trust His purposes for her? Do I trust enough to submit to the way that He wants to bring those about? Will I align myself to whatever His purposes are for her?

Jesus only did what He saw the Father do. He must have wanted to do so much, and He could have, for the broken world He came into. Yet He submitted to God’s way of saving the world, and how glad we are that He did.
Whether in ministry or in parenting, I must not try to complete the work in my own strength or wisdom. I must trust God’s way of working here, and His way of working in Norah’s life.

There is SO much to be done here. There's intense poverty, there's young moms and dads that don't know how to parent, there's young Christians needing discipling, there's homelessness, disease, child abuse, and so much more. There is need everywhere. On one  hand, I just want to jump in and try to help in any and every direction. On the other hand, I just want to stay in my house with Norah and take care of her and shelter her from everything. I mustn't do either. God has a plan for us here. It may feel smaller to me than saving South Africa. And it may also feel more overwhelming at times than just being a mom and not worrying about the world outside at all. We don't totally know what His plan for us here looks like practically yet, but what we do know is that we must follow His vision, in His way, or nothing we do will matter. And we must trust that that plan also concerns Norah, and God is fully prepared to protect and form her, in His great love and delight for her.