Today was my last day of (paid) full-time work; tomorrow I go on maternity leave for the remainder of the year.
I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I am looking forward to concentrating on being a full-time mum to two boys; on the other hand, I am nervous. Having one active toddler to care for is tiring enough, how can I care for Micah and a newborn? I know millions of women have done it before, but it all seems so daunting.
I am comforted, however, by the thought that God cares about our personal fears and challenges. He empowers us with strength and wisdom to make it through each day, whether it is with young children or with an unreasonable boss or with angry commuters.
God can downsize from the Universal to the human; from the Creator to the created in a cradle, from the Saviour to the friend. And having heard our troubles, He then is big enough to change hearts and history.
Micah loves singing the song, “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do (clap, clap! repeat) The mountains are His, the valleys are His, the stars are His handiwork, too (clap, clap!) My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do – for you!”
I am internalising this song as I face a new bend in the road. My God is big enough for the sleepless nights and endless days, big enough for the unknown future and the regrettable past, big enough for the highs and lows of life’s journey.
With such a guide, we can echo the psalmist:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23, NIV
May you turn to God today with the smallest of cares to share, believing that He is big enough to move heaven and earth – for you!
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14