I Am/Am Not Enough

Being a parent is not an easy task. Everywhere you turn you have someone offering their opinion of how you should or should not be parenting. Increasingly in our present world there are two extreme sides to everything. Once one side takes a stance on a particular viewpoint on something, the other side takes the polarized opposite view of that standpoint. There is no balance. Just constant conflict. Why conflict you may ask? Because conflict gets you seen in today's world.

The most recent conflict that has come across my screens is the "I am/am not enough" battle. When parents constantly question themselves and everything they do for their children, we have an added stress of the secular world shouting out "you are more than enough... you don't need anyone else" and the christian world shouting out "you are not enough... you'll never be enough". It's confusing and frustrating and more than just a little bit deflating. You sit and you question yourself. Who is right? Who is wrong? Who should you believe? My answer... 

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My answer is that they are both right and they are both wrong. Ha ha right? Did I trick you in to clicking on this blog post so that I could get more traffic. No! I mean it. Both have valid points, but both are severely lacking in their content as well. There is something that I have grown to know and understand in the past couple of years and you will hear me speak to this a lot. Balance. Our world needs more balance and that is what I will always center my thoughts back to. Balance.

Let's start with the Christians. Oh my favorite currently. Christians LOVE to express their opinions right now and it seems like sometimes (well... a lot which is a whole separate blog about what would Jesus reallly do in this day and age) they are "expressing" it loudly in your face. You either agree 100% with them or you do not agree at all (and some even give off "your going to hell for sure" vibes if you don't agree with them)

I see all kinds of Christians posting their posts about how the secular world is "all wrong" and we are never enough for our family, our friends, our jobs. Nothing. I am absolutely nothing. Now their sole reasoning is that you will never be enough without Jesus. They are not wrong. I need Jesus. I need Him with every breath that I breath. I need Him like I need nothing else. But it isn't wrong to say that you are enough for your children, your husband, your family, your friends, because honestly when I say that I am enough, I literally mean that I am enough because God has enabled me with all the capabilities I need to be "enough".

Let me be straight with you. When I whisper the phrase "I am enough" to myself it is at the end of one of those really rough "I think I wasn't meant to be a parent, wife, entrepreneur, friend, insert that thing that makes you feel like a failure that day" type of day. You see, I can convince myself that I am worthless. But I have to look at myself and convince myself that I am enough. I believe that everything is God ordained. I found my husband. Am I sometimes a miserable wife? Yes! (don't tell him I said this) But it doesn't mean that I am not enough for our marriage. Am I sometimes a pretty terrible parent? Also yes! (hopefully Joe never reads my blogs) But that doesn't mean that he isn't a gift from God and God doesn't make mistakes. I am enough. I sometimes can be a pretty rotten friend. I've made big mistakes. Been fired from a job. Said the wrong thing. Been rigid in my beliefs when I should have been open-minded. These are things that can lead me down a slip & slide thought process that doesn't have fun water balloons piled at the end.

Then comes the secular world saying I am enough and I do NOT need anyone else. My kids, my husband, my family, my friends, my job. Everything! I am enough for all of them with nothing but my own grit and determination. To that I say "whoa". I don't disagree with you. I am enough, but man... I am not enough on my own. Let's just take the Jesus factor out for those of you who don't believe. You cannot be enough on your own. I am enough because I can call my mom when I have a question about what I should do with my son. I am enough because I can call my friend when a recipe doesn't make sense to me. I am enough because I can lean on my husband when I have had a super tough day. I am enough because I can try again with a friend. I am enough because someone else wanted to employ me. I am enough because I have a village and loved ones that surround me.

You see. It doesn't have to be one way or the other. I'm not an independent on my own "I am enough" and I am not forsaking God when I say "I am enough".

It's all about balance friends. I'm so thankful that when God did manifest Himself in the flesh that this is one thing that He encouraged and inspired with every word He spoke.