I co-parent teenagers. The daily dilemmas, disputes and doldrums can leave any parent feeling pretty defeated by day’s end. If I don’t carve out time to remember who He is and who I am in the midst of my week, the frequent storms will wear me down.

Together, let’s take time this week to recount a few basic yet extraordinary truths to help us stay emotionally and spiritually afloat as we cling to Him in the midst of the mundane and marvelous tasks of the day before us.

“You are deeply loved.”

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

I love my kids and know they love me in return. But, teenagers don’t always share their love out loud. Gone are the days when “mommy’s home” are words gleefully sung as I walk in the door. Rarely do I receive homemade cards with adorable drawings and sweet sentiments all over them. And, bed times. Well, I can’t remember if my teenagers ever begged me to stay in their room to tell me one more time that they love me to the moon and back.

I do appreciate how my teenagers can beautifully express themselves with great affection or gratitude at just the right time. But, I know that their increased freedom and focus on other things can make the frequency and intensity of their loving gestures appropriately decrease over time. While this is completely normal, sometimes a mom sure can miss being loved on by little kids. Before you know it, you can easily find yourself wallowing in the memories of yesteryear and truly wondering if anyone loves you.

For this reason, it is so important for us to take time to immerse ourselves in God’s love by reading passages that remind us of His affection toward us. While it may sound silly and even indulgent, we can only love because He first loved us (I Jn. 4:19). We must take time to experience His quieting love. He loves you more than any person on earth. He actually calls you His beloved. This word means dearly loved, adored, cherished, favorite, darling, and treasured. Nothing on earth compares to being called beloved by the Creator of the universe, the one that knows every single thing about you. We can do nothing to earn or deserve this designation. Christ did it all. And, since He is God’s Beloved, when we were placed in Christ, we became His beloved as well.

Despite the whisperings of the enemy or the doubts and dread that arise on difficult days with our families, remember today that you are deeply loved by the God who created you. Though he may be quiet in His love, His affection for His beloved far surpasses the distance to the moon and back.

Tuesday: “God is enough.”

Jackie