As caring women, it is easy for us to pour ourselves into the lives and well-being of our children, husbands, work, extended family, and other commitments. God made us to be nurturing and there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking care of those we love. However, it is also vital that we take care of ourselves with equal commitment. We need to set aside time for ourselves and our relationship with God in order for us to be all that God created us to be. I’ve been really enjoying a new devotional book by the author Shana Schutte called Two Minutes in the Bible™ for Women.
The underlying theme throughout the devotional is that although we may not have all we need to take care of ourselves, life situations, and our families, Jesus is enough for anything and everything life throws our way. Jesus is enough. I love that.
Although it is easy to say that Jesus is enough, it is much harder to live that way day in and day out. How about the days when all we can do is cry over life’s situations?
(Like when my kids were diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, all I could do was cry and ask why I had to suffer. Why do they have to deal with thousands of shots, finger pricks, and uncertainly of health 24/7.)
How about when troubles that are beyond our control come our way? (For me, it is high blood sugar levels that won’t come down no matter what we do or low blood sugar that we just caught in time in the middle of the night. Or, failing health of loved ones when the doctors don’t know what else to try…)
What about when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we think He should? (We pray for a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, so our kids can live a carefree life without the constant thought of insulin, counting carbs, and finger pricks. We were told 3 years ago that everything will change in 2 years..it’s always “two years” but nothing has changed…)
Taking just a couple minutes to read a couple pages in Bible for Women is all it takes to get my day off on the right foot and my mind focused on God.
It sets the course of my day with Jesus at the wheel. This book teaches me to rely on God and His promises and strength even when life is crazy and out of my control. I’ve seen God answer so many of my prayers, huge prayers that were completely out of my control. I love seeing His Word come to life throughout the day when I spend time reading His Word. Each passage in Bible for Women comes with a few additional readings to dive deeper into the day’s topic. I love that because for me, I need direction when reading the Bible to fully understand and relate it to real life.
If you would like to grow closer in your walk with Jesus, or if you just want to know what God thinks about women’s issues including joy, inadequacy, fear, and courage, I encourage you to pick up your own copy of Two Minutes in the Bible for Women, available on Amazon.com.
