The empty cup

Gosh, there is just so much heaviness around us at the moment, in the world and in our beautiful country.  This inevitably spills over into our homes and it’s often the moms who feel this pressure the most.  So, this post is a bit of encouragement for the moms out there who are feeling the weight on their shoulders and in their hearts, and also for those who are feeling weary and burdened.

Our family has been going through a particularly tough time, most recently with two covid cases in our home.  By last weekend I felt completely finished.  There were just so many balls in the air and they were starting to drop and shatter.  Every mom has a few balls in the air at any given time and the juggle is real, but I like to choose my balls and recently it’s felt like many new balls where just grown at me without much of a choice.  I felt that from the moment I was woken up in the morning, until I closed my eyes at night, someone or something was demanding a piece of me.  I realise that many of us have this going on.  We’re home-schooling our children, trying to keep them entertained during yet another lockdown and trying to protect them from the brokenness around them.  We’re desperate for parts of our old normal, for social gatherings with our friends and family and for the days when we were free from the anxiety that this pandemic (and all the other madness) has created within us. It is a tough, tough season.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt so many times that I had nothing more to give.  My cup was empty and as the old saying goes, ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’.  But then, when I felt most exhausted, I was reminded of how our Servant King so graciously and humbly served the broken and the sick.  He put Himself aside time and time again to love and care for others without grumbling or groaning or resentment.  So, this was what I needed to do.  I needed to serve and love my family.  I knew that, but how?  How, when I felt that I had nothing more to give?

“Abide in my love”, says Jesus.  (John 15v9).  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”, says Jesus (2 Corinthians 12v9).  “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, says Jesus (Matthew 11v28).  Just as Jesus served and loved those we read about in the Bible, so He loves and serves us now, in whichever place we are in.  We just need to let him.  If we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he intentionally creates moments of space to break away and pray.  He quiets himself so he can spend time with God to recharge His fully human body.

So moms, this is what we need to do.  To love and serve our families and friends during this time, we need to refill our cups by creating moments to breathe and recharge.  I can hear you laughing out loud and I can see you rolling your eyes.  I did that too.  But seriously, for us to carry on, for us to walk through whatever fire is raging around us, we do need to intentionally quiet our minds, to draw close to Jesus, even if it’s just for a few minutes.  Trust me, someone who has never felt more broken, it works.

At first, I thought these moments needed to be complete break-aways, extended times away from distraction or demands on my attention.  But let’s be real, in the current circumstances, this is just not going to happen, so we make the most of what we can.  When you feel the heat rising, when you feel the tears coming, walk away to quieter place (quiet doesn’t exist in our house, but a quieter place does), breathe in peace and breathe out the burdens.  Focus your mind on the strength that is given to you when you feel weak.  Focus your heart on the love that is so freely given to you for you to pass on to those around you.  Breathe and know that this storm will pass, this fire will burn out, and while they rage on around you, you are not alone.