She gets up before everyone else and begins another day.
Most days, her first meeting is with God; a few moments while the coffee is brewing or while it is still and quiet. Still and quiet will melt away in a matter of minutes and it won’t be that way again for 14-16 hours, when all heads are on the pillows and the wiping and arranging is done for the day.
The early minutes bring a few important perspectives from a devotional book, or a tender chorus from a worship song, or maybe a few passages from the Bible that have been underlined many times in her heart… and she is ready to step into another day. Sure enough, the quiet is gone and she begins waiting the table, solving mysteries of hidden shoes, packing bags, and offering last minute tutoring. The next hour takes about 4 minutes to come and go, then it's to the car where she starts her 1st shift as the chauffeur. Some just keep on going… to work or errands, maybe a meeting with a client or another mom… down aisles of food, or lines to check another box. Certainly a few more things are "fit in" before the 2nd shift; the afternoon "chauffeur hat" comes back on and children’s appointments with musical instruments or uniformed practices invade the day's agenda. 3rd shift is typically a beautiful mess—feeding, wiping, bathing, drying, refereeing, teaching, reading, and the big organized picking up and putting away begin to announce it's almost over—the close of another day. Bedtime prayers often come at the end of the day because there is much that is revealed in any given day that needs Heaven’s help.
Change the children’s ages or the demands at work or both and it all looks a little differently the same.
Spotted through these day-to-days are moments of time for herself, but not enough… not enough to sustain her heart. A soul can only pour out from what it takes in. Speckled throughout these challenging "wonder years", she will often find the silver linings she hopes for, the moments when she is noticed, recognized or validated by her family - the rare treasures of a spiritual journey her heart is undertaking with God in which He is subtlety at work. The silver lining from time-to-time is good, but it is not enough to sustain a heart and keep it fully alive.
No heart was meant to pour out day in and day out, not without time away for filling… Jesus knew this deeply and modeled it often. Hearing from the one who made her, the one who knows who she is and desperately wants to remind her what He thinks of her, His voice is often drowned out by the many voices in her world. She is more than a mom, although that may be her central role… she is a woman on mission, and every heart on mission needs some time away from the front-line activity to recover and replenish. After all, Jesus didn’t offer a life of “busy and activity”. He offered a life of abundance and fullness… the Life He lives, and the very Life He is.
That is why we created The Deepening Weekend; a time away with God to see, hear, and experience being the one taken care of rather than always the one doing the taking care. If you are that woman, and your heart is thirsty, or if you are married to that woman and you see how thirsty she is, or if you are that child, maybe grown now to an adult and you remember this woman, do a feminine heart the kindest of graces and point her to The Deepening Weekend: August 31-September 3. (Click here for all the details).
When was the last time you got away with God so that He could care for your deep deep heart, even more gloriously than you care for the hearts of others? Precious beautiful and strong feminine heart: Your seat is available, your spot reserved… we are praying you will find your way to it and join us for a Life giving and Life changing weekend. Let's Pray…
Dear God, Holy Trinity, you alone are worthy of our worship and praise, to you alone do we give thanks for Life and Love. Thank you for working so deeply on our behalf, rescuing us, redeeming us, restoring us. We confess, we need your help and we declare, glorious is your help in the midst of this great conflict… the battle for the heart.
Father, we invite you, we need you, to father us. Father the Zoweh team as they work to create, with you help, the safest and most refreshing environment for the hearts of women.
Jesus, in these last days of inviting, send out your invitations to the feminine image bearers, fierce and tender hearted women who need time away with you… we all need time away with you. We pray your favor and your infiltration Jesus, you alone can navigate the enemies ways of busyness or responsibilities or diminishment or guilt and shame… all the plots and schemes of the kingdom of darkness to pull a woman away. Jesus, we know there are many that may be pulled away from the great by "the good”. We ask you to gently woo them to the great… the time away with you to hear and see how much you love them, to listen to your voice and be reminded of your ways in which you show us how in love with us you truly are.
Holy Spirit, we pray for protection over every invitation and we pray through Facebook or emails or phone calls or the wildest of ways, that you would get all the invites into the hands and hearts of women and create a holy dilemma within them. Many will need to overcome fear or finances or diminishment… you are stronger, the provider and the victor over all these things… we pray you would let the women know, you want them and remind them how badly they need you.
Father, we pray your strength and your wisdom on how the Zoweh Team is to move toward the women in the last days of inviting and how to continue to work and pray for the organizing of the event. We give you every seat, bed, meal, rock, tree, free time activity, notebook, pen and more… all to you, we sanctify it to hope, we consecrate it for victory in your the precious and powerful name of Jesus. Bring your Kingdom in power and authority, in tenderness and truth. Set the feminine hearts free and prepare them for all that you have for them this Deepening Weekend.
In the matchless and glorious name of Jesus name we pray… Amen and AMEN