Feeling Inadequate

Usually this blog is easy for me to write. I sit down to write and the ideas just pour into my brain. But this morning, I have written and erased this first paragraph at least a half dozen times. You see, God wants me to share my heart with you this morning. He wants me to share my inadequacies and fears this morning, and I'm not sure I really want to do that. However, I know that at least one of you, dear readers, needs to read this, so here goes.

I'm getting ready to teach two Bible studies on parenting. This morning I woke up with the thought "What am I doing? I can't even get my girls to pick up their dirty socks. What do I know about raising great kids? Heck, my kids haven't even reached 10 years old yet. Why on earth did God ask me to teach others?"

I'm not a perfect mom -- no one is. And to be truthful, some days it seems like I'm not even a good mom. Like you, I have days where I yell when I shouldn't, tear down my kids instead of build them up and treat my children as nuisances rather than treasures. To be honest, many days, I sit down to write and feel completely inadequate to tell you how to teach your kids because mine just walked out the door fighting with each other.

Yet, in the midst of all this feeling inadequate, God spoke up and reminded me that I don't have to be adequate -- I just have to be available. God has more power than I could ever need. I'm not raising these kids to be like me. I want to raise them to be like Him. To do that, I have to tap into His power.

I am convinced that Satan's most powerful tool against women is making us feel inadequate. He tempts us to focus on our own failings and inadequacies instead of on God's power. If we make ourselves available to be used by God, then He can fill us with His power. We can use that power to be the parents that God intended. We simply cannot do it ourselves.

In Ephesians 3:20, Paul tells us that God is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." But the only way for us to tap into that power is to make ourselves available to God. We may do an OK job of being a parent under our own power, but imagine how much better we can be if we let God be the power in our parenting.

So, make yourself available for God to use today. Tap into his power and let Him chase away your inadequate feelings. Lay your fears and insecurities before God and let Him wipe them away. Because God chose you to parent your precious child, and He didn't make a mistake.