Y’all, it’s been a rough week. I’ve had the plague and Saffron has had a serious case of the Snarkies.
Some weeks are just like that, right? Things are off physically, the kids seem out of sorts for heaven only knows why, and we just can’t manage to get back on track.
These are the days when I have to retell myself God’s story. I have to repeat over and over and over again that He called me to Him. He chose me before He placed a single star in the sky. He sent Jesus here to live and die just so He could have a relationship with me without the striving and failure of the law. And in Him, He sees me as righteous.
This summer, we read the story of Joseph as a church. It’s one of my favorite stories. Likely one of most everyone’s favorite stories. You know, apart from the fear that your siblings might sell you away. And if Saffron could, she’d totally sell Skillet.
There was one line Joseph said to Pharaoh when he was summoned to interpret his dreams.
“I cannot, but God can.”
Meaning, Joseph had zero ability to decode Pharaoh’s dreams but God could and Joseph was willing to let God do it through him.
I have found myself walking into most every situation lately saying, “I cannot, but God can.”
Teaching two-year-olds, I cannot, but God can.
Trying to talk with Saffron about her sassy behavior, I cannot but God can.
Trying to convince Skillet to go to school without throwing a fit, I cannot but God can.
Fixing some sort of dinner when I’d really rather be curled up in bed feeling like I’d been hit by a truck, I cannot but God can.
On my own, I do the exact things I do not want to do. Get mad at my kids, snippy with my husband, avoid prayer time, eat my feelings, dodge chores. Fail to see my life as anything other than incredibly blessed and overflowing with abundance.
And this was one of those weeks when I tried to do a whole lot in my own power.
Instead of remembering and repeating and meditating on, “I cannot, but God can.”
I am so grateful I can tell myself God’s story in my life. Remind my soul why I keep messing up. Stop trying to be something I am not. And let God be God. Sometimes, I think we need these sorts of weeks to force us back to that place of reliance and submission. Humbly say, “I cannot, but You can, Lord.”
How was your week, friend?