I think it’s safe to say we all need encouragement sometimes, and whether you’re a wife, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a husband or a friend, you have a place here and are welcome to stay as long as you like.
I’m a new mother to a 7 month old little angel. She makes every day exciting and new and purposeful. I love watching her learn new things and discover something as incredible as socks or how to pick something up. It’s hard watching her struggle to sit up or crawl or hold her head up when you just want to sweep in for the rescue and do it for her or help her in the process.
I changed her clothes today, and I’ve noticed over time that she hates long sleeves. Every time I put an outfit on her with long sleeves, she gets uncomfortable and impatient in the process of me finding her arms and pulling them through the sleeves. She can grab things really well now, including my fingers. Every time I would put this type of outfit on her, I would find myself saying, “Just take my hand and I’ll do the rest . . . I’ll pull you through it.” It was less work for her this way and if she kept her palm closed, it was actually much easier to pull her arms through.
When I started thinking about the simplicity in this statement, I realized, this is such a parental thing to say about something so small. “Let me do the work…I want to spare you difficulty.” After all, that’s our job as parents, isn’t it? To protect our children, to make them feel loved and safe, and to reduce their hardship. It’s also our job to teach our children how to be capable individuals, but as a new mom to a 7 month old, I still want to do it all for her.
This is how our Father in Heaven feels about us too. “Just take my hand and I’ll do the rest. . . I’ll pull you through it.” Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Isaiah 66:13 says, “‘As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you,’ says the Lord.” It’s in our nature to want to take control in situations, to be strong and direct and independent. Sometimes we want to fit our arms through our own long sleeves and even when we struggle to find the opening, we still refuse help. I’ve recently learned what it truly means to give something, anything to God. I never knew how to do that before but once I did, it was the most freeing and rehabilitating moment I have ever encountered. Isaiah 58:11 says “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
I know the day will come when my little girl can put her long sleeves on all by herself and she won’t need my help with it. I will be proud of her. I will be thankful for her ability to learn and be independent and strong by herself because I know she will still need my help in other ways. In all of her days, she will never stop needing my love, just like we will never stop needing the love of God.
Blue Withens 