Patience & Peace

I think God had a message for me this week,
and I'm always glad when its so clear what it is!
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On Thursday I attended my MOPS group and heard a speaker talk about patience, and on Friday I attended a Laura Story concert for women where she talked about peace. I happen to have a little miss independent one-year old on my hands right now, and these were just the messages I needed to hear! Patience and peace mean praying "Lord, your will be done" instead of "Lord, please just take care of this, and could you do it soon?" It also means then accepting both His plan and His timing, not an easy thing to do!
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Everyone knows that being a mother is a wonderful, rewarding thing, but its also well-known that it is a tough job! Sometimes I find myself so busy with my daughter, that in the few moments when I do stop and think about the job I've taken on raising her, I think "wow, this really is hard work!" So to hear our speaker at MOPS validate that yes, the work we are doing is good, and yes, the work we are doing is hard really meant a lot to the women in the room. (As was evident by the misty eyes all around!)
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The speaker read this verse to us:

Isaiah 40:11
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
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How comforting that God knows the challenges of raising young, and the Bible says specifically in Isaiah that he leads those who have young.
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I love the words of the song Perfect Peace by Laura Story. I think you can take the words and interpret them any way that you like, or "attach" them to anything that is relevant for you. I happen to think of motherhood when I hear the lyrics, but that's most likely just because that happens to be the phase of life that I'm in buried in right now. Here are the words:

stay close by my side
keep your eyes on me
though this life is hard
I will give you perfect peace

in this time of trial
pain that no one sees
trust me when I say
that I will give you perfect peace

and you'll never walk alone
and you'll never be in need
though I may not calm the storms around you
you can hide in me

burdens that you bear
offer no relief
let me bear your load
cause I will give you perfect peace

stay close by my side
and you'll never walk alone
keep your eyes on me
you'll never be in need
though this life is hard
know that I will always give you perfect peace

I will give you perfect peace
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So, I know what I'll be extra intentional about this week.
Patience and Peace.