Oh, the stories from the preschool classroom!  Kids really do say the cutest things.  I’ve been hearing one comment a lot this week from a particular student.  For privacy, I’ll just call this student “Cutie Pie”!

Cutie Pie is in a little habit of declaring, “It’s too hard!”

I say a habit, because Cutie Pie has a bright, young mind and is capable of things beyond what is even considered age-appropriate. 

But I get it.  Totally.  Sometimes things just seem a little too hard for the moment.  Sometimes we just don’t WANT to do them, either, right?

My response to Cutie Pie is usually, “It’s okay, you can do hard things too” and then just be available for when Cutie Pie actually needs a little help or direction.  I want Cutie Pie to learn.  And learning doesn’t really come from the easy things.

As so often happens, (probably because I spend a good portion of my week with 3-year-olds), I felt a little check this week.  I will admit, I’ve been grumbling a bit of late to God.  “It’s too hard!”

Anyone else?  Surely I’m not alone in this.

And the grumbling seems silly when I stop and think about it.  I had to give myself the same talk that I did my son a couple weeks ago, on a particularly frustrating day, which he proclaimed to be a “hard day”.

Blessings abound.  I have a family who loves me, a comfortable home, a teaching job that allows me to be close to my children, more than enough food to eat, and so many “wants” too.  We don’t really know what hard is; I get that.

But days…or weeks…or seasons do come that seem especially hard.  We all have hard days, ranging from “I stubbed my toe” hard to soul-crushing hard.

I read this passage from Ann Voskamp a few years ago and it has stuck with me.  I wanted to share the entirety with you because it resonated deeply with me and still does:

“You have enough of Me and courage

to do this hard thing.

You have enough of Me and strength

to not give up.

You have enough of Me and love

to keep on going.

You have enough of Me and peace

to know that you are carried.

You have enough of Me

to simply rest.

You have enough of Me

and I am enough.

You are enough – because the great I AM is

In you, and with you, and for you.

And that alone is

completely enough.

–Ann Voskamp

Philippians 4:13 is well-loved, often quoted, and you likely have it memorized too:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Sometimes…maybe often times lately…everything around us just feels too hard and we need a reminder that His grace is enough and His love is enough.

In the daily routines and mundane parts of life, I find myself sometimes just needing a reminder that God loves me.  And He loves you.  And He is enough.

I don’t know what your hard thing is this week.  You may not even know what your hard thing will be.  While I may think I know what my hard thing will be, I’ve lived long enough to know that the unexpected happens.  (Robb so kindly reminded me this week about how many decades old I am.  Of course, he hit the big 4-0 this year, so I can still hang that over his head for awhile. Haha!)

But in all seriousness, life happens and hard things come.  Some happen simply because we live in a fallen world.  Some hard things are allowed to come in to our lives to help us learn!

As you go through your week, I hope you remember that with God, you have what it takes.  And just like Cutie Pie, you can do hard things too.

I’d love to know how I can pray for you this week.  I welcome you to leave your prayer request in the comments.  Let’s pray for and encourage one another this week!

Much love from our nest.

Blessings,

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