27 May 2020

One Saturday morning, Bruce and I were driving to a hardware store to get some hooks to hang paintings and he rang via Apple Carplay one of his co-workers, Sandra. He wanted to talk about some things for Monday morning’s staff meeting.

He asked what she was doing?

She replied she was babysitting her granddaughter, Amelia, who is 18 months old. Amelia was at that moment hitting some blocks with a wooden hammer.

As the conversation continued you could hear some click, clopping noises in the background. Now Sandra knew I was in the car with Bruce and could hear the entire conversation. She said something that made me chuckle out loud.

“I’m on the floor with a child sitting on my belly and I am now the horse she is riding – clippity clop.”

It was the next line that spoke to me. “I am multitasking.”

That’s what I laughed at.

We women (more so than most men I think) can multitask. Some women more than others, but this skill, learned or innate or both, is something we are good at.

I remember when my children were little and my son Joel asked me to help him build Lego while listening to my older daughter’s reading homework, while feeding the baby and cooking the meal ready for that evening. I could juggle a lot of balls!

Then one day it all came undone. I dropped all of the balls. I was tired from lack of sleep. I was grumpy, impatient, unkind even. My husband Bruce walked into crying children, a crying wife and mess everywhere.

I think he saw the situation and would gladly have walked out of the room but was a trojan and helped me put the ‘day’ back together. It did not happen often, but it did happen.

A few days later in chatting to God about my life, I was sharing with Him about how I had unravelled. I felt God say back to me. “But you are limited. You can only humanly do so much. You can only juggle so many balls in the air all at once. On the other hand, I am limitless. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Do what you can do. Use the gifts I have given you. Know your limits. Don’t always try to be superwoman. Yes, it’s ok to stretch yourself at times but not all of the time.”

Do you know what relief that gave to me? What peace was extended to me by my Father in heaven? I did not have to do everything and do everything perfectly. It’s exactly what Jesus told His disciples after the Resurrection.

“Peace I give to you, Peace I leave with you.” If we are walking the way Christ wants us to walk, we live in Peace and have peace in our lives.

One school night a week my children were looked after by Bruce’s parents while I worked. They would be fed, have done their homework and were often ready for bed when I came to pick them up.

One night while driving home, I asked them what they had all done that day. My eldest daughter Emma asked the question, “Mum, we had Gran’s stew for dinner. Why do you not make Gran’s stew?”

In the past I would have felt the hackles rise, the inadequacies of myself come to the fore, for I was not a great cook. I could cook and feed the hungry hordes very well, but I did not have the real gift of cooking.

I would have brought up excuses like, “I did not have a few hours available to cook Gran’s stew,” for that is how long it took to prepare and cook it. “Gran has time…”

Instead, I answered calmly and contentedly. “If I cooked Gran’s stew for you often, it would not be special when you went to their house to eat it.”

What a good answer I thought, laughing to myself. I actually did not have the time, what with 5 children and working part-time.

But I thought how God has worked in my life over the years. Shown me my gifts and talents and encouraged me to love how I am “wonderfully made.” To recognize I do have limits and that is ok.

I have since got Gran’s recipe and cooked it a few times for the children (who are now old enough to be parents themselves) and they have stated, “It is close, but not quite the same.” Again, I have not felt offended. I just don’t cook as well as some people, and that is ok. Not my gift or inclination.

I have since found out though that I enjoy making desserts more. Maybe because I have a sweet tooth. God has made me and formed me to be “me.”

I’ve learnt to be happy and content with that. If there are areas in my life God wants me to change then I find He shows me how in a myriad of ways, and gently draws me to Himself in the process.

God reminds me all the time that He is not limited. Nothing is impossible for Him. Even my inabilities can be reinforced by His abilities. So, I often ask Him to give me the ability, grace me with the patience, perseverance if needed, or show me that’s not for me.

God never asks you to do something he doesn’t give you the ability to do.

Yes, we are superwomen only because we follow a SUPER GOD.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Have you noticed limits in who you are, or what you can achieve on your own?

Where do you need God to provide His ability in your Life?