written for our church's mommy group newsletter....

My little guy is only 16 months old, but he's already been through a lot medically. From his emergency c-section birth (he was a surprise breech baby!), to an elective surgery we needed to consider early on, to eye surgery in the spring, to breaking both of his legs this summer, to more eye issues now, he has certainly kept us on our toes!

God spoke to my heart a while ago, in the middle of a different set of doctors' visits, warning me that my temptation in raising Ezra would be to lose sight of his spiritual needs in the midst of physical needs.

Now, I know that our medical adventures pale in comparison to what many--including some of you--go through on a daily basis. I am grateful that our piles of paperwork, countless medical bills, insurance headaches, and seemingly endless appointments are not for chronic struggles or truly serious problems. But it doesn't mean that it hasn't been a struggle to prioritize what's most important.

You see, I'm realizing that this struggle to keep my eyes on things unseen isn't just because of Ezra's crazy first year, but that it's a difficulty common to all of us.

I've been pondering lately what God has to say about the temporal things we're engaged in day to day. He tells us not to worry about what we will wear or what we will eat, but to seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6). But you and I know that as mommies, huge chunks of our days are spent on what? Meals and laundry--the very food and clothing we're told not to worry about!

Scripture makes it clear that God doesn't want us to ignore these things either. Think of the Proverbs 31 woman, who is praised for her diligence in providing food and clothing for her family (see Proverbs 31:15, 21).

So we're supposed to be diligent in these areas, but we're not supposed to worry about them, and yet . . . do I hear the baby crying 'cause he's hungry? How can I help but be preoccupied with needs that don't stop, sometimes round the clock?

The passage which admonishes us not to find ourselves fretful over temporal needs tells us that "the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things" (Matthew 6:32a NASB, emphasis mine). I think perhaps that's where the balance comes in. We're called to be diligent and serve our families well. But are healthy meals and clean clothes our idols? I know for me they sometimes are. If I wake before Ezra, I can really struggle. I know it's a perfect time to crack open God's Word, but oh, how badly I want to get things done instead!

It's an issue of surrendering my priorities to the Lord, and the remedy lies in remembering His precious promise:

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). 

So whether I'm wrestling with maintaining an eternal perspective amid ER visits and surgeries, or whether the smaller things like what's for dinner and stinky laundry try to creep in and steal my focus, it's my prayer that the Lord would remind me that, well, these meals? This laundry? They're nothing compared to modeling for my little man a relationship with Jesus--where he can find the garments of salvation, and the Bread of Life.