“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13
Sometimes I believe the lie that I must meet expectations, and so I try harder. I stay up later answering emails and I desperately try to finish a book I said I would endorse and I organize the bookshelves and wipe down the counters again. I brush past the children who hold my heart in order to be a “good mother” who has homemade food on the dinner table on time. We finish lessons and recite Psalms and fold laundry and welcome visitors. Life gets too busy; it gets so fast and so full that at the end of the day it can feel just empty.
Whenever this happens, I pull back, dig into the Word and listen. The lesson whispered in the quiet is always the same. Paul says it’s the secret of contentment, hands full or hands empty. Whatever we name it, it is astounding Truth: Communion with the Savior is the only thing that makes anything matter.
I choke because my everyday life begins to feel small compared to the expectation. And He breathes truth that a life is not made by lives saved or bellies fed or words written. To adore the one who created the Heavens and the Earth, to give thanks for who He is and all He has given, to worship and commune with Holy God, whispering in the quiet, clinging in the noise, believing in all circumstances – this is what makes a life large.
The miracle is joy in Him in a day that goes all wrong. The miracle is standing in awe of abundance as I chop carrots and bathe babies and fold laundry. The miracle is a Son sent to die for the very likes of me and His ever-pursuing love for me still.
If you are feeling pressed by expectations, those silent or said, I invite you to pull back, dig into the Word, and listen. Spend time basking in His presence, giving adoration and thanksgiving for Who He is.
