A few weeks ago, I came home from my first Colour in years feeling…. well, FEELING SO MUCH!!!(Can anyone relate?!) So much had been stirred and pressed and changed and touched within me. The whisper of the Lord had planted seeds of faith, had watered my soul and had reminded me of my worth, identity and purpose. I came home with change busting inside me, ready to move outward through my thoughts, actions and prayers. And while the worship and speakers were amazing, anointed, eloquent and laid gifts of truth at our feet, the greatest blessing was simply taking the time out to dedicate those days to hearing from My King, My Father and my Best Friend. He showed up! 
At it’s simplest level, the opportunity to focus on nothing but Jesus re-aligned my soul and spirit with Him and His Word. And man did I need it. With three young children, the days are overflowing with joy, blessing AND ‘deep in the trenches’ moments. Honestly, it has felt like years and years of survival mode. It’s that season where there is a whole lot of dependence on mum for both the emotional and practical. I had a kairos moment, long ago, where I realised that there was a big difference between managing my children and truly mothering them. Between scheduling needs to be filled and being present and flexible in meeting their needs with joy,.I strive to be present, responsive and joy-filled. For me, mothering – and all aspects of family – are intentional, well-thought-through endeavours. I take my calling, and the value of motherhood very seriously, including the injection of fun and giggles into the day! My passion and determination to do this family thing well is both a strength and a potential weakness. I’m prone to turning to the wrong sources for comfort and reassurance on days of weakness and insecurity and to overuse the internet and social media to gain quick answers. That passion can cause me to expect enormously more of myself than capacity will allow and then I throw in a bit of self condemnation when I can’t meet my own mountain-high expectations. And, far more than I would like to admit, I am often fearful of the judgement of others of my parenting. There are often times when I fall into bed exhausted at the end of the day, having had my head down powering through the ‘to do’ list, closing my eyes for what seems a moment, then finding my feet hitting the floor to begin again. I can start to feel like I’m losing the bigger picture. Isaiah 55 in the message version says,“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree.“For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Sometimes we need a good dose of perspective to break us out of a cycle of “survive, manage, repeat.” As much as I wish we could have Colour once a month, the truth is, there are opportunities in our ‘normal’ that can provide good, Godly reminders of His big picture for us. There is perspective in time-out with a trusted friend. There is perspective and spiritual re-alignment in time with that mother or sister or friend that is just a bit further along in the journey than you. There is perspective in asking for help. There is perspective in being truly present in our Oikos. There is perspective and spiritual re-alignment in valuing our church services, in turning up deliberately hungry and seeking for His Word. There is wisdom and joy in asking God for perspective in quiet times and asking Him to remind your heart that there is a big picture forming in the smallness of your everyday. In Isaiah it goes on to say… Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. Sisters, the Word of God is in you! Lift your head up; see BOTH the everyday and the day to come, and know you are building living monuments; that you, and your walk, is living and lasting evidence of the Lord our God.
