Weary

Weary...this best describes how I felt yesterday when I sat on my couch and cried my eyes out. I felt beaten, crushed in spirit. No one thing, person or event made me feel like this. It was an accumulation of several weeks of anxiety and stress. I'd never say I feel like my life is stressful compared to most. I have much to be thankful for and I want for nothing. And I LOVE my life as a stay at home mom. It brings me more joy and satisfaction than I ever thought possible. But...there's always a but. Life as a stay at home mom can be just that, stressful. You don't get a break. You don't get time away from your kids. It's nonstop. 24/7. Always a little hand reaching out for something. Always someone who is hungry and asking for a snack. Always noise. Always running. (I've heard this may be different for those parents with girls. Possibly more quiet and down time, and play time that is actually quiet. Not sure, as we have two boys and things are always loud. But then again this could be that they are MY kids and I've always been loud and this is just payback....but I digress and that's another blog for another time.) Always a mess. Always something to be cleaned or folded or put away. With a personality like mine, one who is OCD about messes and can't seem to relax and sit down, it all weighs on you. It makes you feel like you can never do enough, can never clean enough. It makes you feel like you are a terrible mother. It makes you anxious. It makes you yell. It turns you into someone you never saw yourself being. Someone you never thought you'd be. Someone you never want to be again. It all weighs on you until one night you let it all out and cry on your best friend's shoulder. Of course Bruce has no clue what to say, as tears send most men into a panic of their own. But I don't need him to say anything. Just listen. Just hold me. Just pray for me.

I searched for scripture that was encouraging and helpful in times of stress. Because I believe being a parent to small children is a time of stress. Nobody tells you how hard it is. Nobody tells you it can bring you to tears. But there it is...I'm laying it out there. Being a parent is HARD! It challenges you! It challenges your marriage. It will either bring you closer or tear you apart. And I believe that is Satan at work. I will not let my 2 little blessings tear us apart. I will turn to the God Almighty who is bigger and stronger than me. Who can make ALL things possible. A God who will CRUSH Satan! And give me a peace that surpasses all understanding. I hope this scripture gives you the encouragement it gives me.

1.  John 14:1  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, trust also in me.”

2.  John 14:27  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

3.  Isaiah 40: 30,31  “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

4.  Romans 16:20  “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” 

5.  Philippians 4:6,7.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

6.  1 Peter 5: 6,7  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

7.  Psalm 103: 1-5  “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

8.  Psalm 100  “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

9.  Proverbs 16:3  “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

10.  Proverbs 16:9  ”In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

11.  Jeremiah 17: 7,8. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water and sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

12.  James 1: 2-4  “Consider it pur joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

13.  Matthew 11: 28-30  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

14.  Deuteronomy 33:27  “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

15.  Psalm 9: 9,10  “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

16.  Psalm 16: 8  ”I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

17.  Psalm 46: 1-3  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and mountains quake and with their surging.”

18.  Psalm 36: 3-6  “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this; He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

19.  Proverbs 3:5,6.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

20.  Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

21.  John 15: 4, 5.  “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

22.  Psalm 34: 17-19.  “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”

23.  Jeremiah 32:27  “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me?”

24.  Romans 8:28  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

25.  Joshua 1:9  “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”


I got these 25 verses from Lynn Dove's website, here is the link... http://lynndove.com/2012/05/23/25-encouraging-bible-verses-for-stress/