We moms are so good at believing in our kids, aren’t we?
We see their goodness; their potential. We tell them from the time they are young to believe in their dreams.
We say, “you have the world at your fingertips,” and “you can do anything you set your mind to.”
And we hear it at commencement speeches year after year. In fact, we likely heard it at our own high school or college graduation ceremony…back when we were the young people with a future of unknowns stretched out before us.
Even the Bible speaks of a future of hope:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
We believe it for our kids…for graduates.
But do we moms, stepmoms and grandmas take this verse to heart for ourselves? The non-graduates?
Or are we just inscribing this message on cards to give to graduating seniors – throwing in a bit of cash before sealing the envelope – and subsequently forgetting the depth of what we just wrote?
Friend, whether you are in a busy season, a season of loneliness, a season of sadness or a season of unrest, God knows and God cares.
And what about that promise that He has for our plans? For our future?
For our hope?
His plan for you is not over…
He breathed those words with you in mind.
But here’s the catch. Are our eyes open to seeing what God sees?
Are we seeing the blessings of today that He wants us to rejoice in?
“This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24
Big and small, blessings of goodness are all around us.
They’re in the dirt and mess and mire and chaos of today’s circumstances:
They are in the piles of laundry. They are between the stacks of medical bills and dirty dishes.
They are a hug from a chubby toddler. They are a smile from a stranger. They are a ray of sunshine peeking out from behind a cloud.
They are finding contentment in playing with a child. Reading a book. Calling a friend. Sitting with a senior in a nursing home.
So, moms, stepmoms, grandmas…
This is your graduation card.
Your card comes with encouragement just like those graduates are receiving:
To cling to God’s promise of hope and a future; to have eyes that are open to seeing the good; to understand hope…
To know that God is not done with you.
His promise is for you.
His promise is that no pain comes without a purpose. No struggle comes without His guiding hand.
His promise is that He will use today’s confusion for tomorrow’s clarity.
He will use today’s difficulty for tomorrow’s gift of empathy.
And He will strengthen our faith through it all.
Let’s cling to His promises today and trust He will use it for tomorrow.
