Facebook notifications. Text messages. A TV episode you’ve been dying to watch for days. A book that has been drawing you in, so much so that you can barely put it down. An internet “conversation” you want to jump into.
Your to-do list that is going undone, the perfect ministry opportunity at church that allows you to use your gifts, a mom’s night out, a pile of clothes sitting ominously in the corner, waiting to be organized and put away.
There are so many things that compete for our attention on a daily basis. The other day I was discussing with someone how wonderful it would be if there were eleven-hundred hours in one day, because then we’d have time to do everything on our lists and find a perfect way to balance it all.
But you know what? Maybe we wouldn’t anyway. Because sometimes it isn’t only our attentions that are divided, but our hearts.
What do we think on all day? Is it the scripture verses we read in the morning or last night for devotions? Ideas for teaching and training our children? Ways that we can encourage family togetherness and encourage our children’s spiritual walk?
Or is it that latest TV episode? That Facebook debate that we’re silently forming a defense to as we get ready for the day? Or maybe how to sell that eBook bundle we as bloggers have been promoting this last week?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34, NASB
Scripture tells us that the things that we prioritize show our heart’s true intent. Many times my heart is divided as a mom. I don’t spend time meditating on the things that I should. Instead I allow myself to be distracted by things that, though they are not bad, are not necessarily the best or most profitable.
What is solution to this problem? Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and determining that we’ll do better next time? Continually beating ourselves up and feeling ashamed at what horrible mothers we must be?
It is essential to be convicted of our sin and to recognize that we cannot have an undivided heart on our own, that is one of the purposes of the law! But it is when we are broken and understand this dividing of our heart, that the Gospel is there to rescue and encourage us.
When we are proud, we need the Law. When we are broken, we need the Gospel.
Dear mother, do you need the Gospel today? Do you feel like I do many times, trying to bring my thoughts back to what is most important {God, my husband and my children}, yet continually finding myself engrossed in other matters that are either fairly unimportant or not beneficial to me or my family?
There is no way we can become undivided on our own. We need Jesus to change us. He alone is the one to whom our hearts truly belong and He can turn our minds to the most beneficial thoughts, if we only come before Him and ask.
Moment by moment, we are transformed. Make no mistake, we will fail again, but the Gospel, the good news, is always, always there!
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
Do you need this encouragement and gospel reminder each day? My friend Kayse Pratt has written a book called Undivided Mom, a devotional for moms who feel distracted, pulled in a million different directions, and really just desperately need Jesus to keep them from losing their focus.
It’s about mothering with a vision, with a purpose, for His glory, and through His strength in real-life situations.
Each day alternates between a short devotion based on scripture from the book of Luke, with questions for deeper thought, and a devotion based on life experience. I was so blessed by Kayse’s book, because she really, truly understands the Gospel.
If you want to grab this wonderful ebook for yourself, just click here. Be blessed!
WANT TO SPEAK WITH GRACE TO YOUR KIDS INSTEAD OF YELLING?
