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I’ve been through it before, yet every time I feel derailed again. I look up and find a very proud baby standing independently on a chair for the first time. Of course soon enough they are climbing onto the table.
And because they aren’t quite old enough to have a sense of being too near the edge this turns instantly into a serious battle that, if lost by mama, could lead to a real injury.
This is not my favourite time in our dining room.
I admire people that train their kids right away at that moment to stay off the table, but I have never managed to do that.
Instead, our way of coping has been to stack up all our chairs very quickly after we finish eating.
Suddenly my dining room feels quite different.
No tablecloth to be pulled off, no inviting spot to stop and sit.
Just a bare, floating table.
This naturally leads to me pushing table against the wall to get it out of the way.
One late afternoon I was in my before supper routine of cooking, tidying and listening to a podcast.
I looked up and saw my baby girl sitting in her laundry basket boat fishing for socks.
Normally she’d do something like this just around the corner where there was more room, but today, I had the delight of looking up and seeing her from my kitchen.
I paused my podcast and watched her quietly for a moment.
Then I heard the Lord’s familiar whisper.
“Look what this season made room for.”
I glanced up at the stack of chairs and the table pushed against the wall.
This moment was thanks to that annoyance.
“What else does your season make room for?”
Recently my mom had to have an operation that meant she was in the hospital for a while.
It was painful for her and she had to bravely face a recovery road that she would rather not have walked down.
During her time in the hospital I was able to sneak away early in the morning before my husband left for work to be with her.
Those few days that were very challenging for her and extra full for me, made room for early morning visits and time I would not normally have with her.
Difficult seasons are legitimately hard, and I feel the Lord asking us in the midst of them: What does this season make room for?
Can you glimpse it?
Could you take advantage of it?
Could you even be grateful for it?
Walking with a child who is struggling to learn a concept might be making room for opportunities for loving connections that will be burned in their heart forever.
A season of sharing a vehicle as a family could be creating breathing room in your schedule that you can’t as easily overfill.
An unexpected fever makes room for a child to be held and cuddled.
Being up frequently with a baby and not being able to wake up before your kids to have time with Lord is ensuring that your children see you trying to spend time with God in the midst of everything else that’s happening.
In their own hard seasons they just might envision mama reading her bible and find their own courage to keep seeking Jesus.
He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous.
Psalm 1:3 TPT
What does your season make room for?
Lord, I know that many mamas reading this are in difficult season and could share many challenges they are facing. Would you inspire their hearts and minds to see what this season also makes room for? That as we wait for you to break through for us that we would have a little more joy and a little more patience and a little more gratitude. Open our eyes to catch glimpse of how you are working. In Jesus Name.
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