Do You Feel Like a Hamster on a Wheel

Have you ever cooked a beautiful and delicious dinner only to have your kids not eat a bite of it? What is the point of cooking if your family is not going to eat what you cooked?!! Tonight we had breaded/fried slices of eggplant, roasted broccoli, home fries, and...lunch meat--because I didn't get around to making the scrambled eggs after cooking everything else.  But guess what no one ate? Eggplant, broccoli, and potatoes. Sadie literally only ate slices of turkey breast lunch meat for her whole supper. Dominic actually ate some broccoli. And Gaby/Emma at least tasted a few potatoes only upon my insisting.

But sometimes they even complain when you make something they love like pizza or grilled cheese. Do you ever feel like a hamster on a wheel? You are constantly on the go but going nowhere. You are constantly cooking but it does not get eaten. Or, in the case of my friends with teenage boys, you finished cooking but your kids are still hungry. Or you just finished washing the last of the dishes when you realize there are still dishes left in the dining room.

Do you ever feel like you are giving constantly but you never get anything in return? How long is that sustainable? Within our natural selves, it is not sustainable, but "with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). For us as moms and wives and sisters and daughters and church members and leaders and workers, it is only possible to continue giving and giving every day by the supernatural strength of the Spirit of Christ working in and through us.

"We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). In our own human strength, we cannot keep loving those who are not loving us back. But God loved us before we were ever able to love Him. And He still loves us even when we fail Him every day. We should take a moment to think about the love of God right now. He loves us perfectly. "His love never fails" (Psalm 136). And His love is demonstrated to us in so many ways every single day and moment! Here are some examples of God's love for us.

"He shields all who take refuge in Him" (Psalm 18:30).
"God is within her, she will not fall" (Psalm 46:5).
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11-12).
"Where God guides, He provides" (Isaiah 58:11).
"The Lord will fight for you" (Exodus 14:14).
"He restores my soul" (Psalm 23:3).
"...the Lord...daily loads us with benefits, God of our salvation" (Psalm 68:19).
"He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).