Beloved

It's been a hard couple of weeks trying to maintain a healthy balance in my life. I'm needed as "Mom," "Wife" (okay, thankfully Brent doesn't call me "wife!" but you know...), "youth leader," "Friend," "Daughter," "Sister," "Neighbor," etc. etc. etc. It just was getting too overwhelming, trying to do it all myself and to be all things for all people. After a conversation with some friends and a ton of prayer and reflection, God told me to simply allow myself to be what He created me to be: "Beloved" (BTW, that's what my name, Amy, means). God loves me exactly how I am right now, and He loves who I am right now. I long to be "better" every day: to be a better Mom, wife, youth leader, daughter, etc etc. but I've been putting way too much pressure on myself. I simply CAN'T do it. Only Christ can be those things perfectly for me. I've finally been able to release it all to Him and allow Christ's righteousness to cover me, and to know that He wants me to have JOY. The joy I have in Him is the strength that gets me through each day. Just as much as Christ longs for me to have joy, Satan wants to steal my joy. I recognize that I've been believing a lot of his lies and that I've been allowing him to steal my joy. But by acknowledging those areas where I've believed the lies, there has been a release and a freedom. I will NOT let him steal my joy any longer! God has blessed me with an amazing husband and three beautiful children, a great extended family, caring friends and church family. We have a nice house, a great church, and countless freedoms living here in the USA. I'm so very thankful to the Lord for all of these things and loving people in my life. And yet, even if all those things & people were taken away, I would still have joy because those things aren't the source of my joy. Only Jesus can give me the joy that we all long for. I have been given the most amazing gift of all when God offered me the unearned gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And NOTHING can separate me from that love Christ has for me. So I don't need to go a million miles an hour every day trying to be everything to everyone. I am learning to simply be myself, "beloved," and to enjoy the roles God has given me as "Mom," "Wife," "Sister," "Daughter," "Friend," etc. etc.
For those of you that have had no idea the struggle that I've been going through, I'm sorry that I haven't been completely honest with you. Sometimes it's just easier to put on a mask and pretend every thing's okay, you know? For those of you that might be feeling some of the same things, please talk to me (or someone else you trust), okay? I truly believe that God is up to something big in our community and that Satan is working harder than ever to stop God's plans. So as believers, we need to unite together and be completely honest and authentic with ourselves and each other. I hope you know how very dearly you are loved by the Father (your Creator) and that He longs for you to have an abundant life, full of all the joy that is available to you in Christ!
Thank you for listening to (reading) my heart.
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."