Intention, Attention, and Surrender
As we come off of a holiday centered around mothers, it can not go unsaid that there are many different types of grief surrounding Mother's Day. There is the grief I am well acquainted with of losing a mom, there are mothers sad about estranged children, mothers grieving death of the children that made them mothers, mothers grieving that never got to meet their children due to miscarriage, children grieving the mother figure they wish they had in their lives, many women grieving at the thought of never being mothers, and a myriad of other scenarios that could be added to the list. All of that to say that Mother's Day, like every other holiday, can be joyous for some and extremely difficult for others.
As I was reflecting on what Scripture to cling to for this week's dose of joy, I was struggling. I spent the majority of the day after church yesterday in my car or on my bed in tears as I realized I was not just missing my mom and all that we had and hoped to have, but I am also grieving the life I wish I had, even in ways not pertaining to my mom. This "life grief" has been coming up a lot lately and it would be a missed opportunity if I did not point out that it is okay to be experiencing multiple types of grief simultaneously. This brings me to the verses that come to mind. The first two of these verses were reflected on in another blog post recently, but with new applications this week being noticed by continuing into the next verse.
"Count it ALL joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And LET steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." - James 1:2-4
As I read through those verses, the two words that jumped out at me this time were ALL and LET (hence the all caps added by me for emphasis). Firstly, we must count it ALL joy. All leaves nothing out. All means seeing the goodness in every hard situation. All means taking trials with humility in knowing that we are not exempt from hardship just because we love Jesus. All means finding ways to be thankful in the midst of difficult circumstances by shifting our mindsets and our surroundings as needed. All means all and there is no way around it.
Next, LET. We must let steadfastness have its full effect. This verse does not tell us that steadfastness will be produced with ease and we get to experience it. This verse calls us to action. Let is a verb. Let means we play a part here. Let might be a stilling or slowing action, but it still requires intention and attention. Sometimes, letting steadfastness be produced means enduring pain (or grief) that seems unending. Sometimes it means sitting in our feelings and letting ourselves experience an entire situation with no solution or resolution of our own. Let means to surrender control, which is something I have a really hard time doing.
As we approach this week with whatever honest emotions we are bringing into it, we can aim to focus on two key things: we can focus on finding joy in ALL things and we can focus on surrendering control so we can LET steadfastness have its full effect. Imagine the joys and lessons we may miss out on if we do not surrender! So, join in with me this week as we walk in it all with intention, attention, and surrender. Surely, we will find joy through it all!
