The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

I Give it To God and Sometimes Pick it Right Back Up Again

4 Minute Read

By Jennifer Thompson

Sad woman on steps — Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Friends,

Let’s talk. There is something that’s been on my heart that I want to share.

Life can be hard. There is no way around it. You cannot live and breathe and exist without experiencing some level of pain. It’s an inevitable part of living in this fallen world.

Some pain is a result of extenuating circumstances that are outside of our control, and other pain is a consequence of our actions or even sometimes inaction. This is the pain I want to talk to you about right now.

Friends, sometimes we don’t make the best choices. Sometimes we don’t say the right things. Sometimes we yell at our kids or our spouse. Sometimes we aren’t the best friend. Sometimes we respond in ways we wish we wouldn’t have. Sometimes we break promises. Sometimes we should have reached out but we didn’t.

Sometimes we all make mistakes.

It’s what we do with those mistakes that matters, right?

RELATED: I Am More Than My Mom Mistakes

Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t say. Sometimes I react to my children and husband in ways I wish I wouldn’t have. Sometimes I drink a glass of wine too many. Sometimes I watch movies that probably aren’t the best for me. Sometimes I let my kids play on devices more than they should. Sometimes I am on my device more than I probably should be. Sometimes. And sometimes. And more sometimes.

But, friends, I am trying. I give things to God. And sometimes I pick them back up. I don’t mean to, but I do. And then I give it back again. And I ask for forgiveness. And I move forward. And I talk to Him. And I pray.

And I tell Him my struggles and my challenges, and I say I’m sorry like I would to a dear friend.

And sometimes I forget to talk to Him. And sometimes I forget to tell Him I’m sorry. And sometimes I realize it’s been entirely too long, and I look at what I’ve been carrying and wonder when I picked it up in the first place.

Friends, there was only one perfect person to walk on this earth. And He died over 2,000 years ago for all of us.

RELATED: I Really Love Jesus, But I Also Have a “Past”

Stepping out of God’s will brings us pain. There are natural consequences. But there is also grace and mercy and love. It took me a long time to accept that.

So, friends, if there is something you are struggling with, give it to God. He is gentle. And He is patient. And He is tender. And He already knows. So give it to Him.

He wants to help us in our moments of pain. He is waiting for us to take it to Him. All of the things. All of our choices. All of our hurts. All of our wounds. All of it.

There is nothing too big for Him. Nothing.

I have made choices in my life that have caused me pain. I have made choices that have caused others pain. I have made choices that have grieved the heart of God.

I have asked for forgiveness and have been forgiven for much. And will continue to be. Because I will make more mistakes. I will mess up. I will cause others pain at some point in time. Even if I hope to never do so.

RELATED: Give it To God—He Wants it All

Friends, whatever pain you are carrying. Whatever hurts you have. However your heart may be grieving. Whatever relationships in your life need healing. I pray God meets you there. I pray you are able to accept the forgiveness that has been given to you. I pray you are able to move forward in faith and leave the past behind and allow God to use it for His glory. I pray for healing for your heart.

Sometimes we all make mistakes.

And God loves us through it all.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page

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!

Jennifer Thompson

Jennifer Thompson is a freelance writer, preschool art teacher and mother of four with a heart for Jesus. Her work can be found on a number of blogs and parenting publications. Recently relocated from Indianapolis to Nashville, Tennessee. She is a passionate storyteller and believes every person has an important story to tell. We grow when we share. And even more when we listen.

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

In: Faith, Living

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

“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

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

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

God Holds You As You Hold Everyone Else

In: Faith, Motherhood

Mother holding toddler daughter on her hip, standing outside

She stands in the kitchen, hands trembling over the sink, tears she cannot let fall pressing behind her eyes. The world outside her window is quiet, but inside her heart there is a storm she cannot name. She is hurting, not because she does not love her life, but because somewhere along the way she forgot how to breathe inside it. Yet even in her pain, little voices call her name. Tiny hands tug at her shirt. Lunchboxes need packing, homework needs checking, hearts need holding. And so she wipes her face, forces a smile, and whispers a quiet prayer:...

Keep Reading

Yes, I Know Fear—but I Also Know Faith

In: Faith, Motherhood

Mother holding child's hands in hospital bed

The night my daughter woke up screaming at 3 a.m., I knew something was wrong. Her cry wasn’t the half-asleep whimper of a bad dream. Instead, it was pain—raw and sharp. Within an hour, we were rushing to the emergency room, the world outside our headlights still wrapped in darkness. Tests, scans, questions, and then the words no parent ever wants to hear: “We’re transferring her to another hospital by ambulance. She needs surgery right away.” They said “torsion.” They said “tumor.” They said “appendix.” I nodded, because that’s what mothers do. We stay steady, even when our hearts are...

Keep Reading

10 Years after My Mother’s Death, Her Faith Still Guides Me

In: Faith, Grief

Growing up, I was a reluctant Catholic. My mother would drag us to church, and I’d go through the motions—fingers moving across rosary beads without really feeling the prayers. But she never stopped. Sunday Mass, daily prayers, devotions to the Blessed Mother. She was relentless in her faith, not because she was trying to force it on us, but because she genuinely believed we would need it someday. She was right. My mother died of stage 4 colon cancer in 2012. My brother and I watched her suffer, saw how her body betrayed her, watched as treatments failed. And here’s...

Keep Reading

Finding God in the Middle of Disbelief: A Mom’s Journey through Faith and Fear

In: Faith

Mother holding hand of young child, silhouette

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not triumph over me.” – Jeremiah 20:11 God, thank You for making sure my son is okay. Thank You for this just being paranoia. I believe in You. I believe in Your control. I believe. I believe. I believe. These words streamed through my head as my husband drove us downtown to visit our first specialist with our 4-month-old son, Maximus. Our pediatrician had written me off, but I could not ignore the feeling in my bones that something was wrong. Tiny, hard bumps...

Keep Reading

In Praise of Indebtedness: How Threads of Reciprocity Weave Us Together

In: Faith, Living

It all started with tomatoes. After we moved, a neighbor invited us to pick from the abundance in her and her husband’s gardens. In return for a pile of tomatoes gathered from their raised beds, I left a plastic bag of homegrown pumpkins on their porch. Later that summer, our neighbor stopped by with a recycled container full of still more fruits. By the fall, we were sharing chili and cookies over dinner at our place. Threads of indebtedness were weaving us together. For most of my life, the idea of indebtedness has tasted rather repulsive on my tongue. The...

Keep Reading

Being Tired of This Year Doesn't Mean You're Not Still Grateful For It

Living

Being Tired of This Year Doesn't Mean You're Not Still Grateful For It

I Was Taught to Fear God But I Had to Learn To Love Him

Faith

I Give it To God and Sometimes Pick it Right Back Up Again

Sometimes we all make mistakes.

RELATED: I Am More Than My Mom Mistakes

And I tell Him my struggles and my challenges, and I say I’m sorry like I would to a dear friend.

RELATED: I Really Love Jesus, But I Also Have a “Past”

There is nothing too big for Him. Nothing.

RELATED: Give it To God—He Wants it All

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

Jennifer Thompson

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

Lord, Give Me Faith Like Hannah

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

Faith After a Rare Disease Diagnosis

What If I Don’t Hear God’s Voice?

God Holds You As You Hold Everyone Else

Yes, I Know Fear—but I Also Know Faith

10 Years after My Mother’s Death, Her Faith Still Guides Me

Finding God in the Middle of Disbelief: A Mom’s Journey through Faith and Fear

In Praise of Indebtedness: How Threads of Reciprocity Weave Us Together

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

I Give it To God and Sometimes Pick it Right Back Up Again

Sometimes we all make mistakes.

And I tell Him my struggles and my challenges, and I say I’m sorry like I would to a dear friend.

There is nothing too big for Him. Nothing.

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

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

Lord, Give Me Faith Like Hannah

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

Faith After a Rare Disease Diagnosis

What If I Don’t Hear God’s Voice?

God Holds You As You Hold Everyone Else

Yes, I Know Fear—but I Also Know Faith

10 Years after My Mother’s Death, Her Faith Still Guides Me

Finding God in the Middle of Disbelief: A Mom’s Journey through Faith and Fear

In Praise of Indebtedness: How Threads of Reciprocity Weave Us Together

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like