Let It Go: Learn to Trust the One Who Holds Everything TogetherSample

You Can Drop the Ball!
By: Valerie McNulty

It wasn't until I was out of one hard season and thrown directly into another that I realized the crushing weight of expectations I was putting on myself.

After several years of back-to-back deployments for my family, we found ourselves alone at a new duty station. If you had asked me, I would have told you we had finally reached the other side. Life would get better. Actually, I would have said that life was already better because our family was whole again. But the truth is, I was still riding the wave of trying to be everything for everyone, and failing miserably.

Although my husband was finally home with us, I would find myself stepping up to the plate to parent our boys before allowing him to step in. It was too easy to lean heavily into the way I ran the household and insist he do it my way because that's what had been working for us. Not only did this affect our marriage, but it also affected the unity within our home.

One evening, our family decided to watch a movie to pass the time in limbo, waiting for our household goods to arrive. The movie was new to us, and as the bright colors danced off our white walls, the music echoed in our empty house. I was half-heartedly watching until one specific song came on, and suddenly, I couldn't look away. The lyrics brought me to tears, and it was the first time I had ever seen myself depicted in a movie. As the character continued to sing about not being strong enough and the growing pressure she faced, I knew this was more than a catchy song; it was the very definition of my life.

I had lived in survival mode for years, trying to juggle all the demands of military life. Failing was not an option, and I reminded myself often.

My husband depended on me to hold down the home front and keep everything in tip-top shape while he was away... or so I told myself.

My kids depended on me to be their unwavering rock in this crashing sea of military life, since I was their only constant... or so I led myself to believe.

And as the stress of this life piled up, and the demands of what I thought was expected of me kept coming, I stretched myself too thin. It's funny how God can get our attention. He used this song to remind me that I did not have to try to be strong enough for everyone, because that was His job. I had bought into the lie that I had to hold it all together. That if I dropped the ball, everything would come crashing down.

But the truth is, I can drop the ball because I’m not the one holding it up. I wasn't created to hold it all together. Colossians 1 says Christ, the visible image of the invisible God, existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Instead of running myself ragged trying to carry it all on my shoulders, I can find rest in the truth of who Christ is and trust that He is more than capable of holding everything together for me.

Military wife, nothing I could pour into you carries more power than Scripture. It is a source of strength, a beacon of hope, and a guide for our lives. Take some time today to lay the excess weight you are carrying at His feet and sit unhurried before the Lord. Let the words of Scripture wash over you, renew your spirit and fill you with the strength you need to face each day.