Motherhood Adventures: In Christ, We're Perfectly Packed
This summer, our family is planning an extended road trip to visit relatives and explore some national parks. As my husband studies maps and plans our route, I consider possible meal options in light of our children's dietary restrictions. We've got spreadsheets and packing lists, and we've logged countless hours strategizing how to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We anticipate a few hiccups along the way (traffic jams, boredom in the backseat, unpredictable weather), but our kids are the perfect ages for this kind of adventure, and we're counting down the days.
Yet an adventure doesn't have to be something you and I check off a bucket list. Motherhood is full of adventures. From the nuances of each of our birth and adoption stories to all the "firsts" we encounter with our children, there's so much to experience and explore. Even a simple walk around the block or a trip to the grocery store offers new discoveries.
Unexpected Motherhood Adventures
But sometimes we find ourselves on unexpected motherhood adventures. These are the metaphorical ones we don't see coming and haven't planned for. Maybe there's a job loss, money's tight, and we're unsure how to make the food budget stretch. Or a child's health challenge leaves us tied up in knots, disoriented, and concerned about the future. Such adventures can lead us to ask, "Do we have everything we need? Will God really be enough?"
When three of my children were diagnosed with the same serious genetic condition in 2013, I found myself asking questions like these. I didn't know what the next week would bring, let alone the coming years; how did I know if I was adequately packed for this adventure? I felt ill-equipped and unprepared. Medical jargon was a foreign language, navigating specialist appointments overwhelmed me, and I lacked confidence that I was administering medications correctly. What's more, grief over our children’s loss of a perceived "normal" childhood bewildered me.
The truth is, on my own, I didn't have the strength or resiliency for that adventure. I still don't. But despite real challenges, God has been enough, and he has held me through some of the hardest days of my life.[1] His grace has been sufficient, and in my weakness, he has been strong.[2]
Perfectly Packed
The apostle Peter wrote that "[God's] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence" (2 Pet. 1:3). In other words, whatever we face, God has already given us everything we need to live for and reflect him. Knowing the Lord—who he is, what he has done, and his calling on our lives—sufficiently equips us to follow him even on the most harrowing motherhood roads. When we’re struggling, confused, and hurting, we can trust that, in Christ, we're perfectly packed:
We have "his precious and very great promises" to sustain us along the way (2 Pet. 1:4)—promises that assure us that the Lord helps, leads, strengthens, and keeps his children. Jesus himself, who promised "I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20), and in whom "all the promises of God find their Yes" (2 Cor. 1:20), accompanies us.
We have the gospel.[3] No matter how hard it gets, we know that Jesus already defeated our greatest problem (sin) and conquered our greatest fear (death) when he paid the penalty for our sin and died on the cross in our place.[4] "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things" (Rom. 8:32)?
We have a guidebook for fruitful living. A struggling marriage, a difficult situation at a child's school, financial instability, or postpartum depression isn't the end of our stories. It's where God wants to meet us. Where we see no way out, God's power makes it possible for us to "supplement [our] faith" with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (2 Pet. 1:5–7). Doing so brings glory to God and keeps us from "being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:8).
We have a secure hope.[5] It's possible to be "so nearsighted that [we are] blind," forgetting that we've been forgiven of our sins (2 Pet. 1:9). But if we live fruitfully, even in sorrow and hardship, "there will be richly provided for [us] an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:11).
This doesn't mean the journey will always be easy. Life in a fallen world is still hard, we feel the pain, and we wrestle through uncomfortable and unpredictable things. Yet God gives us what we need as we trust and lean on him.[6]
Whatever adventure your family embarks on—planned or unplanned—your spiritual suitcase is packed. You might forget a bathing suit or need to pick up an extra toothbrush, but you have everything you need to follow the Lord where he leads you. In Christ, you're perfectly packed for even the most unexpected motherhood adventure.
[1] Ps. 28:9, 139:10
[2] 2 Cor. 12:9–10
[3] 2 Pet. 1:4
[4] Heb. 2:14–15, 1 Cor. 15:3
[5] Heb. 6:19
[6] Prov. 3:5–6
