Hey all you mamas out there – how are you doing? It’s a lot, isn’t it? The responsibilities, pressures, concerns and worries… the laundry and school assignments and decisions and cooking and workload … and then Christmas comes and brings a whole new set of pressure.
My youngest turns 13 a week before Christmas, so we are planning for as much birthday magic as we can muster in these busy days with all the Christmas going on, and I’ll be honest – this mama gets tired and a bit overwhelmed sometimes.
So when I read this verse, I had to go back and read it again. And then I needed to look at the Hebrew definitions for the words I read because somehow I had always missed this and needed to know the depth of this promise. “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.” Is 40:11
I’ve always read that verse as one sheep-Shepherd relationship – but this morning I saw the last words: “He gently leads those that have young” – and my heart jumped when I realized He means me! He’s not just a Shepherd for the flock (the masses) or for the lambs, but He sees us mamas in all our chaos – and He GENTLY leads!
Literally it means “to the nursing ewes, He leads, gives rest, leads with care, guides to a watering place or station, causes to rest, brings to a station or place of rest, guides, refreshes”
This isn’t just a “pointing the way” God … this is a Shepherd who sees our exhausted bodies and burdened spirits and tends to our weary souls. He promises refreshment, nourishment, guidance, and a watering hole. Another definition puts it like this: “to run with a sparkle, to protect, sustain:—carry, feed, guide, lead (gently, on)”
Oh how my spirit needed this today – to know that I am seen in all I carry as a mother – and to know it matters to Him, and to open my heart to His promises that reach right into that very specific place.
I hope you are refreshed and strengthened by that as much as I am today! Take heart, tired mamas! You’re not alone.
Our God is a consuming fire 