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As a new mother, I would sit and nurse my daughter with one hand and check Facebook and Pinterest with my other hand. I was often searching for something to make me feel like a better mother (e.g., how to make my child sleep more, babies 1st Christmas outfits, etc.). Through a random Pinterest search, I one day came across a quote about not letting Satan steal the joy of being a mother. I cannot find the post now, but the message has stuck with me, almost 2 years later.
So often in our lives, we begin to doubt ourselves and let that doubt turn in to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Depending upon where we are in our lives, the feelings can get worse and have very negative effects.
For me, the message resonated because that is exactly what I was doing. Every time my daughter cried inconsolably (which was a lot because she had acid reflux), did not sleep, or screamed through Target, I felt embarrassed and ashamed. Too often I forgot about the amazing blessing my daughter was and how lucky I was God had given her to me. It made me feel like a bad mom.
That is what Satan does. He steals our joy and makes us feel unworthy because, in those times, we are less likely to count our blessings or thank God for His gifts when we do not feel like we are enough. We forget how much God loves us. Satan does not just steal our joy in parenting, but I feel his negative influence:
Satan does not just steal our joy in parenting, but I feel his negative influence when:
- I am negative toward a grad school class when I should instead be grateful that God has given me the opportunity to attend grad school,
- I complain about the dishes and the laundry when I should thank God I have food and clothes to take care of my family,
- I attempt to learn something new and it does not go well, so I feel embarrassed or give up when I instead should honor God in attempting to do my best in all I do.
The list could go on, but the message is the same. I am blessed daily by the people in my life, the opportunities that come my way, and the amazing love God shows me when I have done nothing to deserve it. I am far from perfect and I will, unfortunately, let Satan win again but from now on, I am going to focus more on the joy in my life and the amazing blessings God has given me. I will not give Satan the satisfaction of turning my eyes from God or stealing my joy.
Note: For me, changing my attitude and mindset toward the joy in my life has been made possible through a daily time of devotion every morning and an accountability partner. My husband is amazing and we work together to help each other find joy. This has not always been easy, but wanting to be good examples for our daughter has been great motivation.
If you do not have a daily devotion time or an accountability partner, I highly recommend it. You will be amazed at the difference in your life.
Yes! Yes yes yes yes. He does this so often an it’s just not fair. The week after I’d accepted my very first teaching job while I was doing additional research on my school and the district, my heart absolutely sank. The ratings, reviews, and test scores for my school were all low- dismal even. I started to question the position and become resentful for a job a hadn’t even started! It was then I realized that Satan was just trying to rob me of the joy of a new position and the joy of an opportunity to be a light to students who may not come from the best of circumstances. Just knowing that he’s lurking is enough for him to stay back. I’m working hard to keep the joy in my heart. Thanks for your encouraging words this evening.
Your attitude is amazing and your school is so blessed to have you. I cannot wait to keep up with you and your journey this year.
Love this Wendi! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! 🙂
Yes! That is exactly what he tries to do. I’ve found that the more time I spend in devotion and prayer, the more I realize Satan is trying to come in and do what he does best. I need to get into a better habit of doing it daily!!
I find a do a great job with my devotions during the week and then get out of my routine during the weekend. I am always better when I start the day in God’s word.
The great deceiver is always trying to steal our joy – and worse, confusing happiness and joy for believers. But the Bible is clear that we are to rejoice in all things (Phil 4:4), rejoice every day (Ps118:24), and count the joy in our trials (James 1:2-3).
Thank you for the scripture to encourage me tonight. 🙂
Amen! So often we complain about what others are praying for. Attitude and mindset are huge.
Yes, they are! 🙂
I needed to be reminded of this, daily I struggle with finding the joy in the struggles we face. Oftentimes we don’t realize we are being attacked and we are being broken so that we can’t do the works that we are led to do to help others and find Joy in the blessings the the Lord has given us. Thank you for your encouragement today!
You are welcome, Amanda! Thank you for encouraging me!
So glad I read this reminder…it is so easy with the chaos of life to forget and not see all the awesome blessings God has put in our lives! Pressing on to find that daily devotion time so that I can keep my focus on Him and not lose any joy!
So glad I read this reminder…it is so easy with the chaos of life to forget and not see all the awesome blessings God has put in our lives! Pressing on to find that daily devotion time so that I can keep my focus on Him and not lose any joy!
It is easy to forget, Kim! We have to encourage each other and daily devotions are a great start to any day.
Thank you for this beautiful read. I had tears in my eyes because I too have fallen into Satan’s traps! I am reading this book called, Resisting Happiness, and it is amazing. It reminds us that when we allow ourselves to listen to his words we are allowing ourselves to resist all the beauty that God has brought into our lives. Like you said, we should feel blessed for all the gifts God has given us and not see them as burdens. There are so many times that I feel overwhelmed and begin to dislike all the things that are making me feel this way. Many times those things are the two greatest gifts of my life: my babies! Why I would ever resist loving them is beyond my knowledge, but this is exactly what I’m doing when I feel burdened by them. I need to remember to breathe and take it one moment at a time.
Thank you, Amanda! I have never read Resisting Happiness, but I will definitely have to add that to my list of things to read.