Even your little struggles matter

I have this beautiful bracelet that was made in Haiti by women who use to live in extreme poverty, but because of the bracelet are able to support their families. Often when I wear it I think about the hands that made the bracelet. The women who rolled the beads from cereal boxes and the women who formed the other beads out of clay. I think of the one who painted each bead and the one who put the beads together on the elastic that makes into a bracelet. Usually I think about them and feel blessed to be connected to them through this bracelet and feel joy because I know they are feeding their kids real food and sending them to school because of this bracelet.

But then other times I start to feel frustrate~d with myself for struggling to find joy in the little moment’s some days and for complaining about my endless to-do-list. I feel disgusted at myself for caring that I sometimes feel hurt by a friend or that motherhood feels like too much some days, because after all, I have a roof over my head that isn’t in jeopardy of falling down or being taken away, I have food on the table every day and my kids live in a country with a free education system. I am not at risk for putting my children up for adoption so they can eat a meal every day. I think it is good to gain perspective by becoming aware of other people and their trials and struggles. I think we need to pray for them, support them and love them. 

However, there is a danger in feeling this way. There is a danger in comparing my ‘good life’ to their ‘hard life.’ There is a danger in making others or yourself feel like they have no right to struggle with motherhood because “at least you don’t live in a 4x4 shack with 5 kids”. Because when I start doing this, I start seeing my circumstances as more important than God. I stop needing him in my day-do-day and start reserving him for the ‘big stuff.’ The truth is, whether you have excess money or just enough to barely pay your mortgage, whether you have to share a run-down-car with your husband or have a brand new car sitting in your driveway with all the upgrades, whether you have 1 kid or 10, you are still a mother. You are still a human and you still have struggles that matter to God. 

God wants us to bring it all to him. The big hard days, and the small battles. He wants us to bring our battle with cancer as much as he wants us to bring our battle with the two year old over the appropriateness of her clothing choice for the day. He wants us all.

He doesn’t want us to worry about whether our struggles are big enough. He doesn’t want us to just ‘suck it up.’ He wants us at the cross no matter what. He wants us to come to him with every little detail and every little struggle.

I am not encouraging you to complain about the small things, because the bible is clear about complaining being a sin. But I am saying that when you are having a bad day and you want to try to force yourself out of it because ‘after all it isn’t that bad.’ Give yourself some grace and offer it all up to the God.

He wants you to offer up your frustration over the too long traffic light and your cousin’s battle with cancer. He wants you to offer up your fatigue because of your children’s attitudes as well as your devastation over losing a baby.

He wants all of us, not just the biggest, ugliest, hardest struggles. He wants our little battles too. Because until we give him our little battles we are trying to remain in control.

~Allison~