The sun peaks through my blinds, painting light over my face. I listen to my husband making breakfast for my children and I nuzzle down under the blanket a little further. Since we started having a set sleep-in day, his on Saturday morning and mine on Sunday, it has become something that I look forward to on those mornings when the kids are up bouncing around before the sun. This morning, my heart fills with joy. It is the Lord’s day and I get to be with his people; my people.
It hasn’t always been like that. In the past I have come to Sunday and looked for reasons why a rest at home would be more beneficial, or why rushing off after church is what we need. But in these times of excuses, I realized I often felt disconnected from the body of believers- like an outsider looking in on something that I wanted to be a part of but just couldn’t quite get there. Things have become easier as our bubba is now 1 and copes more with the church routine and this too gives me a bit more freedom to really connect with people.
We were created by a communal God for community. We are part of a family. In 1 John 3:1 we read, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” I think those three words have become a favourite phrase for me- “and. so. we. are.” God has paid the price, we are part of the family, a child of the King of Kings. His love has drawn us in, enveloping us like my blanket does now. He sees our weaknesses and loves us. He sees our strengths and loves us. He sees us when we are changing our little one’s nappy, or when we are leading worship in church and loves us the same. And the ultimate place we see this love? In Jesus.
As Sally Lloyd-Jones writes, “Jesus was showing people what God’s love was like- his wonderful, New Stopping, Never Giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love” (The Jesus Storybook Bible, 2007, Zondervan). Today as I head off to celebrate the life we have in Jesus, I want to seek forgiveness for my times of tired irritation at my kids this week, and I want to simply enjoy being covered in the love of Jesus. I also want to look for the tired mamma who is feeling like she is the outsider looking in, and show that she is my sister in the great family of God. I want us as mammas to support each other in this journey with God’s love as the glue.
photo credit: Petunias, Nova, no. 2 via photopin (license)
