Hagar Moments

She was an Egyptian. A slave. A woman. A handmaiden.

The story of Abram, Sarah, and the mother of Ishmael in the Bible is one that could be considered fairly well-known. If you grew up going to Sunday School, you will remember that a great nation had been promised to come from Abram (later called Abraham) and Sarai (later called Sarah). In Genesis 16, Sarai sees that in her old age, she has not conceived and decides to take the situation into her hands.

In comes Hagar.

By encouraging Abram to take her maidservant as a wife and in modern terms, using Hagar as a surrogate, Sarai hoped to have children through Hagar.

Okay, so what's the problem? God promised children, right? Sarai just thought she was helping God, right? Here are some issues that arose:

• There was some doubt here. It is possible that Sarai had unbelief that God was going to fulfill His promise.

• This was a sin against the marriage of Abram and Sarai. Genesis 2:24 (ESV) says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

It is so easy for me to identify with Sarai. God has promised us many things. He promises:

• Strength (Isaiah 41:10)

• To be with us (Joshua 1:9)

• Give rest (Matthew 11:28-29)

• Future, Hope, Prosperity (James 29:11)

• To keep His promises (Isaiah 40:31)

• Supply every need (Phillipians 4:19)

Ya'll, this is only the tip of the iceberg of the promises the Lord has given us. How often though, do we take these promises into our own hands, oftentimes, not even realizing that is exactly what we are doing. This act of 'helping God' by figuring it out or speeding things along are what I call, Hagar moments.

Maybe I haven't met them yet, but I do not know a single person that has not intentionally meant well while still practicing a Hagar moment. Things do not go as planned, the timeline is not ideal, the door is slammed in your face, the diagnosis doesn't look hopeful, we do not have x,y,z. What can I buy, how can I speed this up, what doctor or miracle drug can I find, etc. You know drill...

---

You know what the silver lining is here?

Grace.

El Roi. The God who sees me.

That God, you know the one who sees us, gives grace knowing that we are going to have moments when we genuinly mean well, and try to 'fix' all the things. He doesn't necessarily get mad at us. Sure, we may have to suffer through the reprocutions of us not doing what was intended in His will BUT--He still offers us grace.

Many say that it was a sin, the way Ishmael was conceived and true to this; it could have been. However, God could have not allowed it. God could have let Hagar and the child die in the wilderness. But grace. God could have literraly erased Hagar from the story, or not included her. But grace. Not only did he allow the story to go how it did but He offered grace to the situation.

It is not always the situation we need to change. Our circumstances do not always need a grand transformation. Our heart needs the change.

Here is some good news, God can offer you heart transformation.

This is called grace and us mammas, need grace too.

Love ya!

Caitlin

A Baby Gate, a Dog, and a Broken Arm

Trust me. Just float...

It was a typical Friday night. That's how all good stories start right? We had dinner at the in-laws and I watched, 2 feet away as my one year old decided to pull up on the tension rod gate at the top of the stairs. What felt like 2 minutes really was only a couple of seconds as I wrestled with the thought of, "That gate isn't going to hold," and "I should probably just pick him up," as I am holding his juice cup to come to me. Then it happened... The gate gave way and there went my precious babe tumbling down the stairs. In that moment amidst the sheer panic of what was happening came in the negative self talk. "What were you thinking?!" "You literally could have prevented this." "Your'e the worst mom," etc. The next couple of hours are a blur but after a full body x-ray and a CT scan, we were told that the tumble was nothing more than a bump on the head and our precious child was going to be perfectly fine. "Whew!" I guess we dodged a bullet this time..

Now let's skip to the very next Friday, at roughly the same time in the afternoon. My husband, Conner, was getting ready for a PT test. You know that wonderful physical fitness test you have to take every six months-year to make sure you are still 'fit' enough to serve your country. Insert eye roll here from every military spouse :) He goes out for a simple jog around the neighborhood as he does every other day. The same dog runs out as it always does, barking like a mad animal because for some reason, Conner is just not his favorite person. This particular day, Conner decided to not face the vicious 8lb. animal and starts to make his turn back in the direction of our abode. In the midst of this, he steps off the curb and lands straight in the ditch. This lands us to the same urgent care with the result of a ligament sprain and a set of crutches to be delivered the next day. Okay, surely nothing else can go wrong, right?

Well whenever that's the question, don't ask it. Four days after the dog incident, Conner is away in Texas for training. It is just three precious children and me heading to the park after school on an unusually warm day in February. We decided to take the scooters so the kids could get out some energy and I could sit with the baby, enjoying time with a sweet friend. Sounds perfect right? Then I hear the scream that brings me back to reality... I turn around to my four year old under her scooter, screaming, with a nice group of kids surrounding her. I looked at my friend and asked her to watch the baby as I run to aid my girl. ANOTHER trip to the urgent care shows a broken arm and a cast for three weeks. Im not asking but I am asking, "God, really...what else?"

This may seem like bad luck to many. Maybe it is a rough patch. Maybe I have sinned and God is punishing me. Maybe it is just the wrong place at the wrong time.

"God, why?"

Have you ever asked that question? Surely I'm not alone here. After a series of unfortunate events, I often find myself just bracing for the next thing. I will tread water with nothing but my nose above the surface, exhausting myself to stay on top and keep moving. Then I hear it.

Float.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Float.

"Mmm, K. but..."

"Float. Quit trying to do all the things and float. I've got you. I've got this."

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." You see, I'm a fixer. I like things to run a certain way, no hinderances, no hiccups, no problems. When there is an issue---I fix it. Here's the problem. I can't fix everything. I also am learning I cannot PREVENT everything. Ya'll, God can prevent, and fix, but sometimes He doesn't.

Does that change His status of being good? Certainly not. Through this, it has become clear to me that leaning into Him has been my sanctuary vs. how I normally find myself pulling away. This has been a hard season for sure, but I have grown tremendously in my walk with my Father because of the hard.

If you don't get anything else from my struggles and treading water; get this...

Float.

He's got this. He's got you.

Caitlin

Thanks for Dropping By!

Welcome! My name is Caitlin and I am so thrilled to meet you! I am a mom of three ranging from eight months to seven years. I have been married to my hunny since 2013 and we have a pretty great southern life together here in Georgia.

I am hoping to share a few tips I have learned during my short time being a mamma, a recipe here and there, and a routine or two that may make your days and nights run a little smoother.

Above all else, I hope to provide a tiny bright spot in your day to remind you that you are doing great! No one has all the answers. So like the Bible says, come as you are! There is a great deal of grace here waitin on 'ya! <3