Wednesday in His Word | Strength

I sat down to my computer tonight, all set to dive into the "bread of life" verse from John.  Then I opened up Blogger and read through comments from Monday's post about the Momnipotent T-shirt idea nudging its way into being, spawning a way to raise money for moms dealing with domestic abuse.  And — BAM!! — God did it again, this time through a lovely comment from Steph who blogs over at Mommy The Teacher.  In her generous support for this fledgling T-shirt project she offered up a fabulous idea for a hashtag campaign, a sharing of stories of moments when we wish we were momnipotent.  

Maybe ask moms to share their thoughts or funny pics or stories of being or wishing they were MOMNIPOTENT...all in 180 characters of course! Start a movement!!!

Yes.  Oh sweet yes!

I love the humility of this — lifting up moments we wish we could be more, we hope for superpowers, we know we need God's strength and support.  I love the joy of this — celebrating the moments when we've got it together, get it right with our kids, and feel God in our parenting efforts.  

So moms, and friends and spouses of moms, let's strike those hashtag keys and share Momnipotent Moments.  Let's strike up conversations about the faith and fumbling that is parenting.  Share a snippet of a story on Twitter or snap an Instagram and freeze a moment in time.  Either way, use #MomnipotentMoment so we can lift each other up, learn from one another, and maybe even share a laugh or two.

https://represent.com/momnipotent

That's what this Momnipotent campaign is all about.  We're not truly all-powerful.  But we know who is: our great and glorious God.  And we know that when we open our hearts and minds to God, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  So we can laugh at our humble, fumbling attempts with our kids.  We can ask for help to get us through the hard days.  We can be secure in sharing our mistakes and our missions accomplished.  We can be generous in lifting up and helping out other moms in this mission to do our blessed best by our kids and our God. 

Today I challenge you to pick one specific action from the following list.  Talk to God about it in prayer, and promise to follow through in the name of glorifying how God blesses the ministry of motherhood.

1. You can buy a T-shirt through Represent.com (quick though, only 18 days left to meet the 50 shirt goal).  Fifty percent of all the profits will go to the Domestic Abuse Project that supports families dealing with domestic violence.  
2. You can spread the word about the Momnipotent campaign.  Email a friend, share the Represent.com link, tweet about it, post it on Facebook, or take the radical face-to-face conversation approach.
3. You can invite others into honest conversation about the humble, humorous and heartfelt adventure that is motherhood.  Share your story on social media, using #MomnipotentMoment to be a part of the collective community.  Share your story with your sisters, mothers, spouses and friends in the flesh, lifting up the ways God gets you through the tough spots and up onto the mountaintops of parenting.
4. You can say a prayer for moms everywhere, trying hard, oozing love, squeezing out every bit of energy for their families.  You can say a special prayer for those moms who feel threatened by their spouses, who don't feel safe in their homes, who worry about the health and well-being of their children, who fear the moments when their loved one turns vicious and violent.  Ask God to be with these moms, to give them the power to make a change, one baby step at a time or one big leap into a safer life.  Ask God to point them to resources and mentors and friends who can help them through the fear to where they can see faith and strength and hope.

Let's pray this verse for all the moms in our lives, and especially for the moms with seemingly insurmountable struggles like domestic abuse.  And then let's pray it again for ourselves.

Lord, 

You know this human world teases us into believing we're supposed to face our challenges like rugged individuals and figure them out all on our own.  You also know we often fall into that trap, whether we are afraid to appear weak, afraid our pleas for help will be rejected, or afraid of leaning into our faith in you.  Release us from these tortured ways of thinking.  Lift up our gaze until we focus clearly on you.  

Remind us that when we share your vision, when we aim for the peace and joy that you offer, we can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  When we aim to please you, to serve you, our humble efforts are enough to invite your power to be made perfect in our imperfection.  You can work through our wrung-out hands and our worn-out feet to spread your deep and abiding love, even if we feel we have nothing left to give.

When we turn our eyes to you, our hearts and minds to your word, we will never be empty.  You fill us up with your strength and stamina.  You fill us up with your wisdom and will.  You take the gaping, God-sized holes in our hearts and fill them with your holy love and grace.  All you ask us to do is to believe.  Just believe.

Today we lift up mothers everywhere.  Moms of newborns, overjoyed at your miracles and overwhelmed with sleep deprivation.  Moms of rambunctious toddlers, constantly vigilant for safety hazards and tempting troubles.  Moms of tweens and teens who strain towards independence and power, striking out at their parents to clear a path towards their unique identities.  Moms facing times of trouble, with more questions than answers and more worries than certainties.  And especially moms looking for shelter and reprieve from the dangers of domestic abuse.  Give these moms your help.  Your strength.  Your plan, step by step, for their welfare, their hope, and their sanctuary.

Lord, help us to see where we can serve you in this effort of lifting up mothers in their daily challenges.  Show us where you need our prayers, our time, our talents, our treasures.  Connect us into a community that cherishes moms, both the official ones with children and the gifted ones who nurture others, not because they are bound by family, but because they are inspired by your love.

You are the perfect parent, our Heavenly Father.  Be our strength.  Be our vision and our aim.  Build us up to do all those things that are pleasing to you.

Amen.