"I hold you?"

“I hold you?” she asked peeking over my computer with her arms wide open. I already felt guilty for not being able to play as I sat grading hundreds of papers in a room littered with toys. I could see the dishes still in the sink from the night before and there were a handful of gifts waiting to be wrapped. “Oh sweet baby girl,” I thought, “I wish I could hold you now, but I haven’t even thought about what to cook for supper.”

But then I thought about what she had asked me. “I hold you?” She says it so often that I don’t even notice she’s mixed it up. But that night I listened. I hold you. Oh if only my two year old could hold me, this was the time I needed it. Just on the verge of tears caused by checklists and lack of sleep, I really heard what she said. She is too little to hold me and my worries, but there is someone big enough to do just that.

As mommies, we often allow everyday tasks and life to weigh heavy on our hearts. We allow the roles God has given us to become too much. Family, work, house, wife, and now holiday checklists sometimes send me spinning. We know with our heads that God can lighten our loads, but sometimes our hearts won’t let them go as we try to complete everything and please everyone by ourselves. That’s when we need to stop and listen, really listen as God says, “I hold you.” He desires to take your anxieties because he cares for you. He’s waiting patiently for us to humbly recognize we can’t handle it all so he can hold you mommy and give you what you need to clean another messy floor, to make another meal, to give another bath, and to have enough energy to praise him as each day ends.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

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