I think so often about being the one in my home responsible for setting tone, atmosphere, soul-aroma. Like it or not, that’s who I am as the wife and Mama. (And if I go on strike, that action has its own aroma. Or stench.) This home culture — it’s my domain.
I’m painfully aware of how often my heart is churning out fumes of annoyance, frustration, worry, anger, envy, discontent, judgment… Need I go on? Ugly. Poisonous. If our eyes could see the thick black smog those things produced, wouldn’t we just be horrified?
So I am continually crying out to the Lord to continue to do in me a deep heart-change, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of those breathing in my soul-fumes!
And oh my, is He ever. Such a deep down, turning things upside down, helping me to get it kind of work.
Rest. Peace. Work. Grace. It is finished. These are the themes that suddenly are everywhere, grabbing my attention, showing me clearly my brokenness, illuminating a path of freedom. Old patterns, dyed-in-the-wool weaknesses, things I’ve limped along with and thought maybe I’d just get better at limping — He’s able to address it all and make me brand new. That in and of itself is life giving. Wow.
This week’s verse for meditation is Romans 8:6, and oh, how it has struck me in a whole new way.
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
What does that mean?
It means that when our mindset is one of “do good, earn favor; do wrong, you’re a failure,” we are living under a construct that can only mean death. We can never do enough good. I will live my whole life under pressure that will never let up; I can never satisfy the gaping void between my best (and I’m rarely at my best!) and the holy God whose approval my soul craves! And that pressure breeds anxiety, stress, anger, resentment, envy, jealousy, pride, insecurity, hatred, selfishness… Death.
When my mind is set on the flesh, and we don’t have a “good” school day, the poisonous fumes of failure are the result.
BUT.
But.
In Christ, there is the most beautiful but.
When my mind is set on the Spirit, I realize that my worth is found in Christ. The deepest things my soul craves and is tempted to prove through my best efforts — value, meaning, goodness — are fully satisfied in the Cross. That to-do list is completely crossed off.
Done.
And now, I wake up and work and do my best each day as wife and mother because it’s the work my Loving Father has given me — not with an underlying drive of needing to finish, complete, perfect, produce.
The fragrance of that is life and peace.
I love the smell of a good scented candle, of freshly baked bread, and just-shampooed babies wrapped in clean towels — but the homiest fragrance I can bring to my family is the one that comes when my mind is set on the Spirit, and I am working to bless, not to prove.
For more great insight into Romans, the law, and the Spirit, listen here.
Hi Danica,
We don’t know each other. I live in an entirely different part of the country. I came across your blog through a rather circuitous route.
Either way, I absolutely love what you have to say. The Lord very often uses you to encourage me in my role as His redeemed, as a wife and as a mother. This post hit home for me, big time.
Thank you for sharing!
In Christ,
Roxana
This ministered to me today. So good to remember that other mamas are in the trenches feeling, learning, and pondering the exact same things! Thank you for sharing the encouragement of what the Lord is speaking to your heart of late. May I return the favor?
A verse in Hosea is a constant reminder of my role as mama and thermostat and key-holder in this home…
“I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:4) <3
Coming back to read this verse again! So wonderful.
Hi Danica,
Though I am neither a wife or mother, this post spoke to my soul as a child of the Most High God. What a beautiful reminder about how easily we can get caught up in the demands of “the world” and lose sight, for a moment, of who we really are in Him. He is our source, our portion. When we position our hearts fully on Him, He truly gives us what we need, and guides us to pure life. Thank you for bringing this message to the forefront for each of us.
When I lose myself in the demands of the world and know I am not at my best in Him, I am reminded of this verse: Zephaniah 3:17…”In his love He will take delight in you; He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”