Friday, March 9, 2012

When the Well Has Dried up/When the Oil Has Run Low


“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” –Isaiah 40:11 KJV


I am sitting here, and the well seems to have run dry….But then it makes me think of how our well can run dry---or our lamp can run low on oil.   Don’t we all have days of that; perhaps even weeks?  Dare I say months?  Yes, it’s not fun when we feel like we are running on fumes, but it can happen to most of us mothers, especially when we have children with special needs that require a bit more energy (both physically & mentally).  You feel like you just can’t take another one of your child’s tantrums.  You can’t handle another poopy Pull-up, dumped out glass of juice or box of cereal, another seizure, another judgemental look from people.  You can’t even seem to find the energy to pray.  All you can seem to manage is a weak plea of “help me!”   You’d love to go out and have a date with your spouse, but who can you leave your child with that can handle them? That you can trust?
  In those times where you feel like God is far away, and you just can’t seem to get time away with Him, He hears that cry of “help me”, & He will deliver you.  It isn’t usually our timing though; it’s His, but He is always right on time; never too early & never too late.
  I love the above Scripture, because it reminds me that God is not beating me over the head when I am unable to spend the same amount of time in prayer---specifically undivided time---as I did when I was single or before I had a child.  I believe that Scripture is saying how the Lord recognizes how hard it can be for us to find the time or opportunity, so He doesn’t expect us to be able to devote as much undivided time to Him as say, a single person.  I believe the key is to learn to practice His presence.  In other words, just being aware that He is always there, so that we talk to Him when we do the dishes, take a bath, wash our hands, sweep the floors & other things we do on a daily basis.  And although it is crucial to get that alone time with God at some point, He isn’t expecting us to climb in our prayer closet for several hours like we may have been able to do before.  Just to have even a moment.  If you get a spare 15 minutes, even!  Just to take that opportunity to be refreshed by Him, and let Him refill your lamp with oil.  You will find that you have that encouragement and strength again to face all of the things that are especially challenging. Yes, you will need to keep coming back for that refill, because you will get worn down again without that time with Him.  But He understands, and I don’t know about you, but that sure makes me feel a whole lot better!
  He leads us gently.  I like that.

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