“In the going, the Spirit comes…”

There have been plenty of mornings…I lay in bed listening to Fiona babble in her crib, trying to ignore Parker as he climbs into bed and gets about two inches from my face…

There have been plenty of afternoons…I can barely keep my eyes open as I stumble over the words of the books I am reading to the kids…

There have been plenty of middle-of-the-nights…I stagger down the hallway to change poopy diapers and rock kids back to sleep…

There have been plenty of times…I ask myself, ” How do I give when I feel like there is nothing left to give?”

Our pastor talked about this very question a couple of weeks ago…arriving at the point where you feel “tapped out” physically…emotionally…financially…

This season of life…especially with three small kids…is marked by round-the-clock hard physical labor. I get to the end of the “working day” (when the kids are tucked into bed) only to turn around and start a whole new list of chores. I don’t say that to complain, only to say that it sometimes seems impossible to meet the needs of my immediate family, let alone anyone elses.

Our pastor finished the sermon with a story about a pastor who ministered tirelessly in the face of tremendous grief. In those moments where giving of his time and energy was the last thing on his mind, he would remember, “In the going, the Spirit comes…”

In the jarring mornings…the never-ending afternoons…the groggy midnights…in the going, the Spirit comes…

A listening ear for my husband…a shoulder of support for my mom…a kind word for a student…a phone call for my sister…a gesture of kindness for a stranger…an errand for a friend…in the going, the Spirit comes…

All it takes is that first step…and the Spirit takes care of the rest…

Talk about hope…