Monday, May 4, 2009

Hope

"Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV)

This past weekend I found myself playing the part, once again, of the single-mom. My husband was out-of-state for some "man-time." He and a group of his buddies go to California every year to be guys. I don't mind because I'm not very good at being one (a guy), so this is his version of re-charging. They go to baseball games, roller coaster parks to see how many roller coasters they can ride in one day (last year they set their record at 44 roller coasters in one day), and eat nothing but guy food for a whole weekend.

Of course, this means that I am left by myself with the two kids. We are used to be alone during the day -- and a normal day is 12 - 14 hours long -- so this wasn't really a stretch. Unfortunately, my body chose to shut down and take on a sinus infection over this particular weekend. Awesome! Many times over the weekend I pondered the consequences of hiding in my bed and let the kids run amok. You see, the thing with cold medicine is that it requires hours of consecutive sleep.

How many times have I felt that weariness in my soul? Like I just can't go one more day? If one more person needs one more thing from me, if one more creditor calls, if I hear of one more friend hurting...the list can go on and on. When Satan attacks us with self-doubt, hate, loathing, worry, pride, lust, etc, I put my hope (desire) in the Lord. I turn my focus back on Him and allow him to lead my life. When I am focused on him, I find a renewable energy source which helps me fix one more lunch, wipe one more runny nose, and wipe away missing-daddy tears.

*****
My husband arrived back home this morning just long enough to shower and run back out the door to work. The kids are going crazy and I'm driving the car! We are tired and the week has just begun. I look to Him for my comfort and strength.


3 comments:

Michelle said...

You are in my prayers! This is one of the verses that led us to name our 2nd born Emily Hope. Wish I was closer to help out.

Lisa said...

Oh,golly! I'd make you some chicken soup and take the kids to the park to blow bubbles and run with our hands in the air...again. Praying for ya! This is one of the top 10 scriptures for me. Thanks for sharing it! Feel better soon!

ambersun said...

Yeah - different issue entirely that I've been facing but I've been leaning on God too. Mainly because no one else seemed to have any answers.

Hope and pray things get back to normal soon. Colds and flus really drag you down don't they?

God Bless

Amber