2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
The day of the swim meet our hearts pumped wildly. The “giants in the land” were better prepared. They’d been swimming from the womb and my kids started in middle school. Before the race, my son noticed the coach slipping five dollars to one of his teammates, urging him to win. I couldn’t believe it. So, I promised my son five dollars if he beat that kid. Yep. One of those moms.
When my kids excelled, my momma’s heart burst with pride and I cried. But those moments when they were sprawled out on the floor screaming in the middle of aisle nine? Not so much.
The early years were marked with mayhem as I grabbed a hold of the Bible like it was a white surrender flag. Cheerios stuffed here and there, noses running everywhere, loaded diapers about to flare. I was just grateful we survived.
Poured out, still, there was that familiar ache burning inwardly with the thought I dared not mention—what if I’m not enough?
I used to say with a hint of pride that I home educated. Four kids in college and one in high school, they all love Jesus, but they have all had their slip-ups just like their momma. Now I realize that whether they succeed or not, it’s not mine to own.
I wasn’t enough. I never was.
Somehow, I got off track and thought parenting was about me. What I could produce.
In reality, somewhere in the middle of surviving and thriving is the space where God’s grace fills our best and makes it enough.
Yes, friend, you and I aren’t enough. We give it our best and God takes care of the rest.
Paul wasn’t afraid to admit he wasn’t enough. In fact, he boasted about it. A former persecutor of God’s people, he became their leader. Talk about regret. But when he fell short of God’s grace, he learned some secrets—humility and reliance on God were his strength, not his own abilities:
2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Boasting about my weaknesses? I had spent so much time hiding them. But Paul reveals that we have access to power, strength and grace when we are willing to admit we aren’t enough.
Power
When we aren’t enough, we access Christ’s power through that admission.
Strength
When we aren’t enough, Christ is our strength.
Grace
When we aren’t enough, we remember that we never were. But God is. And He has called us by His never-ending grace all for His glory, not ours.
That day at the swim meet my son tied for first. The five dollars was a little competitive, perhaps, but now I know it wasn’t winning that mattered most. It was simply giving our best to God, all for His glory.
Yep, totally agree with you Denise, for a long time I was caught up in being a ‘good mom’ – it became my identity. Ouch. I wasn’t enough.
Very blessed to be living a life of not enough – but He is!
Yep – I think we all go through that. The enemy of our souls likes to accuse us and we accuse ourselves to with comparison. Thanks for sharing, Cate!