“She looks like A STURDY GIRL.”

Sometimes life is hard.  Sometimes we’re pulled in a thousand different directions.  Sometimes there is a lot expected of us.  Sometimes – especially as women – we’re expected to take it all in stride, hold it all together, get it all done, AND make it look easy with a smile on our faces.

Ok, perhaps just a tad more often than “sometimes”.

Here is where this drive and expectation leads us: Fake smiles on our faces, pretending to be strong when we’re withering inside, isolated living, and even judgment on fellow women because we can’t admit that it’s ok for them to fail unless it’s ok for us to fail too.  We live behind a well-practiced façade of everything-is-all-right-ness and put-together-ness so that others think we are capable and strong.

Any of that sound a bit like you?  It sure sounds like me.

When I was a teenager, a family friend was looking for a “pantry girl” to employ in his camp kitchen and told my mom, “She looks like a STURDY GIRL.”  Apparently, he thought I looked like I could handle hard work and heavy lifting.   While that doesn’t feel flattering to a 16 year old girl, I think most of my life I’ve worked hard at keeping up that impression – physically, as well as mentally and emotionally.  I tend to act as if things are just fine, I can handle it, and I’m not in need of any help.  But that’s simply not true.  Because *NEWS FLASH!* I don’t have it all together.  None of us do.

Take a look at the first couple verses from my favorite Psalm:

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”  Psalm 62:1-2

Don’t you just love that?  Rest, salvation, rock, fortress, never shaken.  Doesn’t it just make your soul breathe with relief?  By the way, those things aren’t produced from YOU dear friend – they are from God ALONE.  HE is the ONLY source of strength and is able to give US strength for what we face in the daily grind and when expectations are too high.

I truly want to be a strong woman – one who is sturdy in her faith, sturdy in her work, sturdy in her family, sturdy in her relationships.  But that doesn’t mean having the appearance that I’m always capable of all kinds of hard work and heavy lifting.  True strength comes from God.  And I think the more I surrender to His direction, the more I depend on Him to sustain me, and the more I’m honest with Him and others about my struggles, the sturdier I become.

This space is my desire to share what I’m learning along the way about true strength and resting in God alone – because the more I share, the more I learn.  I’d love for you to join me here and share with me too what you’re learning along the way about the One who makes us sturdy.  Thanks for coming along!

 

About Sarah:

I’ve been married to my handsome husband Jim for 13 years and we have 3 adorable, ACTIVE, miracle boys. (Plus one boy who is definitely adorable, though certainly NOT active, nor particularly miraculous – our lab Wylie.)  Nathaniel is 5, and my twins Zachary and Matthew are 2.  All three were conceived through fertility treatments – you’ll see me write about some of our infertility journey here.  We are often busy with soccer, t-ball, birthday parties, and family events, but when we get the chance we love the outdoors – hiking, biking, the beach, and camping.

 

I am currently a stay at home mom to my busy crew.

I’m discovering daily that living this dream job is more challenging and more rewarding than I could have imagined.  Prior to this job, I was a junior high director at our church, and before that, an elementary school teacher. I stay involved in ministry these days by speaking a few times a year at our women’s Bible study and planning women’s ministry events for our church.  I graduated from Biola University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education and a Minor in Bible.

My ability to stay sane during my day depends on my morning time with God, going for a run, and coffee.  3 of my favorite things!  If I’m fortunate enough to have other minutes to myself (which, let’s face it, is RARE for this introvert) I enjoy organizing, reading, list-making, and planning parties or holidays.

Another of my favorite things is to deepen friendships and talk about Jesus over a cup of coffee or a good meal.  So grab a cup of coffee (or tea!), take a lunch break, and let’s have some meaningful conversations together. I’m so glad you are here my friend.