A Gift for Mom! 🤍

The mess of this presidential election season is planted firmly in the heart of every American. This season has birthed a nation divided. I have witnessed people turn on one another in the name of a candidate. I’ve seen others spit back and forth with hideous taunts and claims and unraveling hate. I’ve had friends stalked on social media outlets, attacked with relentless threats because of who they are supporting. It’s a maddening mess.

One nation

Under God

Indivisible

With liberty

And justice

For all.

The anticipation for what’s to come is much like ripping off a large bandage- afraid to look at the oozing infected deep wound underneath. The blood seeps through with signs that there is simply no hope for healing. No matter how you look at it- it’s going to be a painful outcome. Possibly horrific. Toxic at best.

No matter the outcome of the election, really.

I have spent the past several months trying to pick my jaw up off the ground, as things have unfolded in the presidential political landscape, while watching with utter amazement as the ugly side of humanity continues to erupt with poisonous vapors filling the very air we all breathe.

I have been terrified. It’s been shocking, tragic, and well… hopeless.

It’s almost impossible to fathom what will come of this. It’s dire. It seems there’s no way out of this speeding train to nowhere good.

We await the collision, with an intensity that grips us so tight that no one feels in control. Our nation, our world- is spiraling out of control.

It sure feels that way, doesn’t it?

Everywhere you look, there’s war raging, battles brewing, evil spreading, tension rising- the pot is simmering and ready to boil over into what we do not know.

Too much. It’s all just too much.

And I fight my fears with the only thing I know to be true.

I wrestle my hopelessness to the ground of faith in an all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, mighty God.

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

And I claim it. I must.

God’s got this.

He knew this day.

He knows tomorrow.

And yes, this mayhem is under His control.

“He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

He is sovereign over ALL.

His might is stronger than an elected official, a government, a nation, a terrorist group, a bubbling earth ready to explode.

He is the creator of heaven and earth and all living creation.

He reigns.

Psalm 103:19 (NIV)

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

That is Power we do not hold in our own reckless hands. We may believe we have it, but this world is in the constant control of the All Mighty.

His plan cannot be thwarted.

It is in place.

We’ve witnessed the atrocities of His children at their worst. The terrifying view stretches far and wide, beyond our borders and across the seas…

Darkness. Evil. Hatred.

Lies. Deception. Corruption.

We are brothers and sisters.

Aren’t we?

God loves every single one of us…

With UNFAILING LOVE.

Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

“He’s got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He’s got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He’s got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

What will the future hold?

No one knows…

Only God.

And in my quiet moments, I cling to His Promise- I grab hold of His Truth-

I trust in His Greatness, His Glory, His Power.

 

Psalm 89:11 (NIV)

11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.

“He’s got the sun and the rain in His hands,
He’s got the moon and the stars in His hands,
He’s got the wind and the clouds in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.”


And in the midst of this battle, this war, these ruins…

We are in the palm of His Hallowed Hands.

God reigns.

God rules.

God wins.

We are not alone.

He knows the outcome.

He knew this day.

He knows the next.

His plan is in place.

Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)

21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

“He’s got everybody here in His hands,
He’s got everybody there in His hands,
He’s got everybody everywhere in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

His Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done

On Earth

As it is…

In Heaven.

 Originally posted on The Mom Cafe

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Christine Carter

Christine Carter writes at TheMomCafe.com, where she hopes to encourage mothers everywhere through her humor, inspiration, and faith. Her work is published on several various online publications and she is the author of "Help and Hope While You're Healing: A woman's guide toward wellness while recovering from injury, surgery, or illness." and “Follow Jesus: A Christian Teen’s Guide to Navigating the Online World.” Both books sold on Amazon.

I Lost My Sight at 16—But It Wasn’t the End of My Vision

In: Faith
Cross and sunset

After my father shot me, I lay in a hospital bed, and my world went dark. I was 16 years old. The injury left me completely blind. But the darkness didn’t stop there. As my physical sight disappeared, something else came into focus—the depth of the wounds I had carried long before that moment, wounds I had never fully allowed myself to see. For years, I had learned how to survive without asking too many questions. I had learned how to minimize what hurt, how to explain things away, how to keep moving forward as if everything were normal. But...

Keep Reading

Ministry Starts Inside Your Own Four Walls

In: Faith
Family around a table

When people hear the word ministry, they often think of missionaries, or the pastor who preaches every Sunday, but in our home, ministry belongs to all of us—even our kids. Growing up, I didn’t think of myself as a ministry kid. Still, when my dad packed our old Astro for the summer and we all piled in, we were on mission. Each kid had a part to play in my dad’s evangelical magic shows (yes, you read that right!). My brother would juggle, my older sister sang, my middle sister flipped the projector slides that shone pictures of Jesus on...

Keep Reading

These Holy Small Things

In: Faith, Motherhood
Children sewing at machine

My 8-year-old-daughter has recently taken up sewing, to my simultaneous delight and chagrin. My delight because I too love sewing; my chagrin because her enthusiasm often outpaces my own abilities, namely, in the undertaking of tedious projects with no pattern. Take, for example, the cloth doll diaper we designed and stitched up together. Granted, the design was fairly basic to draw up and scale. But the minuscule nature of the work, both for my hands and head, was enough to throw me into existential questioning. It was one of those moments when you wonder how the sum of your life...

Keep Reading

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

In: Faith, Motherhood
Two women's hands on teacups

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore Quietly communing with a loved one in the early morning hours is such an intimate and precious time. Visiting with one’s grown child when all is dark and still is one of life’s purest pleasures. I remember the conversation clearly. My daughter’s husband, small children, and father were all asleep as we whispered and chatted. She and I are both fidgeters by nature, unable to be still for long. This inner restlessness must be remedied, and we are compelled by biology to...

Keep Reading

My Prayer Is Simple Now: “I Believe; Help My Unbelief.”

In: Faith
Woman sitting by water

I have spent most of my life in faith. Not circling it or analyzing it from a distance, but inside it—learning its language before I even realized I was learning it, shaping myself around it in ways that felt as natural as breathing. I was raised in Christian Science, which is a very particular kind of faith. It’s not really about “believing” in the way most people think. It’s about understanding. Aligning your thoughts with what is ultimately true about God and reality. If you can understand rightly, you can be well. If you can see clearly, healing follows. So...

Keep Reading

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

In: Faith, Living
Woman looking over canyon

Insecurity is something we all carry in one form or another. For me, it has probably always looked confident and outgoing from the outside. But internally, it can feel heavy, complicated, and exhausting at times. And when someone comes along whose behavior reinforces those insecurities, it amplifies what was already there. There was someone I had hoped to genuinely connect with, but it was clear from the start that the feeling wasn’t mutual. From the beginning, their wall was up. No matter how kind I tried to be or how carefully I showed up, it never came down. Their distance...

Keep Reading

Lord, Give Me Faith Like Hannah

In: Faith
Woman walking in field with hand in wheat

Hannah knew what it was like to feel forgotten. She often clutched her empty womb and thought Surely the Lord has forgotten me.  She knew the bitter sting of feeling isolated and alone. She knew the anguish of praying day after day after day and seeing no fruit, not even a bud, from her faithfulness. Hannah knew what it was like to feel like the weight of the world was on her, and her hope may have dwindled. Even those around her did not offer encouragement. Quite the opposite—they did their best to sow seeds of discouragement. Yet Hannah pressed...

Keep Reading

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood
Woman at the beach as waves come in

“Ahhh!” My underwater scream garbled in my snorkel tube as the manta ray’s cavernous mouth swept a hand’s distance from my face. My fingers tightened around the surfboard until my knuckles ached. My arms trembled. I jerked my head side to side, searching for my daughters, Mia and Megan. Recent college graduates, they had joined me on one last mother-daughter vacation before launching their adult lives. They floated easily on the vibrant Hawaiian water, relaxed, trusting. I wanted to borrow their calm. Earlier, our guide had explained that the LED lights built into the surfboard attracted plankton the way college...

Keep Reading

Faith After a Rare Disease Diagnosis

In: Faith, Motherhood
Family smiling in posed photo

My pastor frequently speaks of “kid pain” and acknowledges there’s nothing like it. I can testify to that. After nine months of uncertainty and unexplained issues following the birth of our now 4-year-old daughter, Harlow, we finally received her diagnosis of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDCD), a life-limiting mitochondrial disease with no cure and no FDA-approved treatments. It was heartbreaking. In moments like these, a parent can fall into complete desperation. You go through a range of emotions almost too fast to name: fear for your child’s life; anxiousness about how much time you’ll get with them; overwhelming grief. And...

Keep Reading

What If I Don’t Hear God’s Voice?

In: Faith
Woman with folded hands looking up

There have been many times over the years when I’ve heard others share stories of how the Lord spoke to them or gave them a sign. Seashells scattered along a sandy beach, numbered to represent how many children they would have. A quiet walk in the park, followed by a clear sense that another little one was coming. What a blessing, I think, when I hear and read their stories. I often wonder how much more faith they must have than I do—to know with such certainty that what they heard was truly God speaking. I listen, I smile, and...

Keep Reading