Grit & Grace: 5-Day Devos For Moms Of Young Kidsنموونە

The Worst Five Minutes Ever

As a mom of littles, I often kept my sanity by cooking with my toddlers. One day we were by the stove carefully watching the noodles boil for macaroni and cheese. When the noodles were cooked, I removed the pan from the stove and poured the macaroni into the strainer in the sink. That’s when I realized I needed butter and ran to the basement to get some from the extra fridge.

Twenty seconds later, I was hurrying back up the stairs when I heard a blood-curdling scream. My 2-year-old had done the thing all mothers fear. He had touched the stove and burned his hand. I ran cold water over his hand and sat down on the couch, pressing a bag of frozen peas on his chubby palm.

That’s when I heard the splashing noise coming from the bathroom. I went to investigate and found my 11-month-old standing at the toilet happily squishing poo between his fingers! Horrified, I placed him in the empty bathtub. (I would have rather hosed him off, but it was January and that seemed a bit cruel.) That’s when I heard a loud POP and my 3-year-old’s sweet voice saying, “Uh, oh, Mama. I’m sorry."

I walked to the living room to discover my daughter had broken the laptop beyond repair. In five minutes I had gone from happily preparing lunch for my littles to crying in a heap.

My whole life, I’ve heard that God will never give me more than I can handle. But in all my dreaming about raising a family, I never imagined a scenario like this. In that moment, I just wanted to crawl into a ball, call my own mother and give away my children.

The truth is, God never actually promises to only give us what we can handle. Instead, He promises He will always be with us. He walks with us through our suffering. He carries our burdens.

We were never designed to “handle” this life without Him.

Isaiah 41:10 says: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

In one verse, God gives such amazing and timely promises of comfort and hope.

Take heart. You have the Almighty God of the universe with you. No matter what comes your way, you are not alone.