Does Listening to God Really Matter?

Following God’s Calling for Your Life Even When the Days are Rough

 

Mom truth coming up…

Sometimes I wish God called me to be somewhere else, to do something else. Sometimes I am so exhausted by my calling of being a mom and I wish, for just a week, I could walk in different shoes.

Maybe that would remind me of why I am where I am.

On the days where I’m so tired of the girls fighting, of the whining and screaming, I want to throw my hands in the air and tell God I’m done. I’m done staying at home. I’m done being a full time mom and I’m DONE listening to Him.

I’m human, after all.

We’re only on week 2 of preschool and while it’s gone well, it’s also a gong show this week and our schedule isn’t anywhere near going according to plan. We’ve done school at 8pm and through the afternoon instead of our regular morning time. I guess that’s the beauty of homeschool; it can be done any time. But I still can’t help but feel like I’m failing already.

What would giving up say? Would would giving up tell everyone around me? What kind of example would I be setting for my girls if I just told God I wasn’t okay with what He wants for me?

As a human it’s easy to dislike or hate parts of your job. It’s easy to say that you wish you could change parts of what you do every day and be frustrated when your employer says that’s not happening.

The same thing goes for moms.

I think as a full time stay at home mom it can be okay to not always enjoy all day every day, but we don’t get to leave at 5:00. We’re on the job 24/7, 365. We don’t get paid holidays, we don’t get sick days, we don’t get time off. When we get sick of how something is going it’s up to us to change it, no one can really help us.

Let me tell you, it’s EXHAUSTING.

From all of this I’ve learned that no matter how much we crave a situation or desire to be in one place and feel God telling us to be there, we may not love every minute of it.

And that’s okay.

It’s okay to be frustrated. It’s okay to want to give up and take a day or two (or eleven) off. It’s okay to question why God put you where He did.

What’s NOT okay is giving up. It’s not okay to through in the towel and be done, and tell God you’re not going to be where he puts you.

The truth is, God is going to put you wherever he wants you, it’s your job to listen and obey. You’re going to have hard moments. You’re going to want to say no, to quit and turn the other way. But when we trust God and put our faith in Him, He provides for us and paves the way for us. That doesn’t mean it will be easy but it does mean we can have hope that He will be there at every turn.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”- Jeremiah 29:11.

They say the grass is always greener on the other side… what about when you get to that side? I can guarantee you’ll look back and your grass will look just as amazing.

On my hard days and the days I want to give up I cling to the verses, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.