Whose Life Are You Watering?

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Chapters

• 1:14 Blessing Others During Tough Times
• 13:19 Finding Purpose and Hope Through Adversity
• 24:14 Navigating Seasons of Self-Care and Blessing

Transcript

Audrey McCracken: 1:15

Hello friends, welcome back to Grace For my Home. I'm so glad to be back here again with you guys again this week. I know I say that every week, but I really mean it and I'm thankful for all of you who reached out to me this past week and said hey, I'm here, I'm listening and thank you. Thank you for that. That encourages me more than you know. Just knowing that anything that I've said has been a blessing to you, that doing this makes a difference in your lives. That gives me the fuel I need to continue, and many of you reached out to me this past week. Some sent me an email, some of you guys reached out to me on Facebook Messenger, and I just want to say thanks.

Audrey McCracken: 2:00

This week we are in the end of the school season and it's a very busy season for us. My husband is a high school principal and this is his end of the year time, and every year it's always his busiest time. There's the graduation All of the year time, and every year it's always his busiest time. There's the graduation. All of the spring sports are winding down, several of them are going into playoffs, and he likes to go there to see the kids play, and then there's the chorus concert and the band concert and the orchestra concert and the pageants and the banquets, and it's just a lot he's learned over the years to prepare for this time, to go ahead mentally and prepare that. This is not going to last forever, that you know. I'm just going to be busy every night for the next month and to take care of himself a little extra during this time and not expect more of himself than he can do. And he asks people during this time to help him with things at the church so that he can devote himself wholly to getting through the school year. And so that's where we are right now. I'm finishing up with my youngest son, caleb. Our homeschool year will be over in a couple of weeks and this is the end of my homeschool journey, which I am sad about. It's the end of an era and I have loved being a homeschool mom. But he has decided that next year he's going to go to public school with his older brothers and his father, who is the principal at our local high school, and I feel good about it. I feel like it's the right decision and he is excited about it, but I sure am going to miss him and I'm going to miss homeschooling. Homeschooling has been a wonderful tool for our family to disciple and train, tool for our family to disciple and train, and just for our family. It's just been a great lifestyle for us. But we're going into a new season and it's going to take some adjustment for me more than anybody. So that's kind of what's going on with us.

Audrey McCracken: 4:13

Next week I'm going to North Carolina to visit a friend. I have a friend who lives up in the mountains of North Carolina and her husband is going on a ministry trip and she's asked me to come and spend a few days with her. I'm really looking forward to that. She was telling me about all of the things she was going to try and line up for us and I told her don't do that, just don't try to entertain me. We can go do a few things you want to do, but I'm just happy on the couch. For me it's just a blessing to get away from home and relax and just be in a different environment.

Audrey McCracken: 4:49

I have a lot of decisions I need to make in the next few weeks, a lot of things with the shop and at home and, you know, with the church, and so I just love the idea of getting out for a little bit and seeing new people and, you know, just unplugging for a while and I don't get to do that very often. So next week that's going to happen next week and I'm really looking forward to it and I will still do my podcast that week. I'll just you know, I'll just do it from there. And so, yeah, some good things coming, some good things to look forward to. Summer's coming and I don't know how everything's going to look. You know what I mean? I really wish I knew exactly how everything's going to look, but then I wouldn't have to walk by faith, right? I just know. We just walk in it. If we knew exactly how everything was going to turn out, then it wouldn't take any faith to trust God that it was going to work out for good. So I hope that you're doing well and today I wanted to talk with you about something that the Lord's been dealing with me about.

Audrey McCracken: 5:53

Most of the things that I come and I share with you are things that he's talking to me about and I'm like Lord, this is so good, I need to share this with somebody. You know if this has encouraged me so much, this has blessed me so much that I know that there are other people out there that would benefit from this, and so I want to be a good steward of those things that he has shared with me, and one of those things is that there is a blessing when we're going through tough times ourselves and we're going through transition times, which can be very tricky and scary sometimes. There is a blessing when, in the middle of those transitions, in the middle of those awkward times, when we're really not sure you know what our future holds, if we can take a little bit of energy and look outside of our own needs and look outside of our own fears and find somebody else that needs something that we can give them, that needs an encouraging word, that needs to hear that somebody cares about them, that needs a scripture, that just needs to know that they're loved. There is power in that. When we can take time, when it feels like we don't have time, when we can take resources, when it feels like we're dry and we can water somebody else's garden and we can water somebody else's life, then blessing comes back to us. I've found in my life many, many times over. The Lord has proved it to me that whatever I make happen for someone else, he makes happen for me. And I don't understand it, but I believe it and I'm so glad it's true. It takes faith to do that.

Audrey McCracken: 7:51

You know, when we are struggling, when we're going through hard times, it's not just. It's so easy to be self-consumed, it's so easy to get overwhelmed with our own needs, our own desires, our own fears, our own problems that the more we focus on those things, the bigger they get. And if we can take just a little bit of time and look forward and look into somebody else's life and think, you know, what do they need right now? Or you know how can I be a blessing to them right now, it will so bring our own situation, our own problems into perspective that we end up being more blessed than the person we bless.

Audrey McCracken: 8:41

And I know there's a spiritual principle in there. You know we cannot give and it not come back to us. And I have to keep being reminded of it because it doesn't come natural. You know there's spiritual things don't come natural to us because we're natural right. You know we're walking in the Spirit, we're learning, the Holy Spirit lives in us and he's quickening us. But we need constant reminding that, hey, you don't live according to the principles of this world. So the principles of this world says if you give, then you'll have less. But God says, if you give, I'll give you more. We're part of the kingdom and God's kingdom doesn't work according to the principles of this world and he's teaching us how to walk in kingdom principles and I'm so thankful for that, because there's so much better than our thinking or the ways that we would do things. And you know that's part of the journey is learning how to walk with God and do things God's way. But when we pour out and we water other people, then we ourselves get refreshed. Then we ourselves get refreshed.

Audrey McCracken: 10:03

And I'd like to say up front, before I say any more, that I'm not talking about ignoring our own needs or being a martyr. It is very right and very godly to meet our own needs. God has given us wisdom when there are certain things that we need to go on. I did a whole podcast on taking care of ourselves so we can take care of other people. We can't give to the point that we ourselves are exhausted and have nothing else to give.

Audrey McCracken: 10:35

But what I'm talking about is, even in the midst of hard times getting out of our own minds, because we can be our worst, our own worst enemy. And so when we're going through difficult times, transition times, learning to instead of looking inside and the problems growing growing because I'm looking at it and studying it and thinking about it and meditating on it all the time I'm talking about taking a moment to let the Lord show you those around you that you could be a blessing to, even though you may not feel like it right now. And that takes maturity, that takes dedication, that takes a decision to do that. But if, by God's grace, we can do that, that takes maturity, that takes dedication, that takes a decision to do that. But if, by God's grace, we can do that, that's called growing up, and when we do that, it brings life back to us. Now I'm going to tell you my greatest lessons in that has been in motherhood, being a mom.

Audrey McCracken: 11:39

We are expected to do that, even when we don't feel like it, right? I mean, they've got. When they're little and they're little toddlers and they're young kids they've got to eat. Whether we feel like it or not, like whether we feel like making them something to eat or not, they've got to eat. And so we get a lot of practice in that and in those early years, you know, there were many times when, you know, I was going through some health issues when they were younger and I remember thinking, you know, I just didn't know it was going to be this hard, but God was always faithful to give me the strength I need to meet their needs and also to bring my expectations of my own self back into check, because a lot of times the things I thought I was supposed to be doing were not even the important things. You know, it wasn't important that everything was perfect. What was important was that they felt loved and they felt and that they felt taken care of, whether, you know, it looked picture perfect or not. Those aren't the things I'm talking about. I'm talking about meeting heart needs for people, because that is that's where God shows up. You know, a lot of times God will use us to bless other people. You know he wants to bless people, he wants to touch people, he wants to speak to people and a lot of times he'll use our hands, he'll use our words to be a blessing to other people and it brings him great pleasure, it brings them great encouragement and it brings new life to us and it helps us to see clearer.

Audrey McCracken: 13:20

I want to read to you from the Bible. I was reading this this week, which is where I was reminded of this principle and how it works. But I want to read out of Exodus, chapter 2, starting in verse 15. And this is the story of Moses, and Moses has, at this point he is fleeing Egypt because it has been discovered that he murdered an Egyptian. So he's fleeing Pharaoh because Pharaoh wants to have him killed. And he ends up in Midian, at a well in Midian. And now I want you to just I'm setting the stage here. Okay, he has.

Audrey McCracken: 14:09

Moses has fled from everything everyone he's ever known. He is living in Pharaoh's court. He is the son adopted son of Pharaoh's court. He is the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, even though his family are Hebrew slaves. But he is very favored and he lives a life they cannot even understand. But now he finds himself as a fugitive, running across the desert, trying to escape the most powerful man alive in the world at that time, and I can only imagine, I can't even imagine what he must have been feeling, or going through the fear that he is facing, the questions that he is running through his mind what am I going to do now? Where am I going to go? You know who am I? Am I a slave? Am I an Egyptian? You know who am I? And so he finds himself at this.

Audrey McCracken: 15:13

Well, and these shepherdesses come up and let's read it. We'll read it together Exodus 2, starting in verse 15. And it says when Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian and he sat down at a well. Now, the priest of Midian had seven daughters and they came to draw water and fill the troughs, to water their father's flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. When they came to Reuel, their father said why have you come back so soon today? So they said, an Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds and, what is more, he even drew water for us and watered our flock. And he said to his daughters Well, where is he then? Why is it that you have left this man behind? Invite him to have something to eat. Moses was willing to dwell with this man.

Audrey McCracken: 16:47

So here's Moses at a crisis in his life, a huge transition, not really knowing what the future holds. And he encounters these women who are in a tough situation. There are men who are opposing them, keeping them from watering their flock, and Moses not only drives off the men, protects the women. He in turn waters the flock for them and fills the troughs with water from the well. So in his time of need, in his time of not knowing, in his huge transition, here he is meeting the needs of somebody that needs help and he protects these women. He helps these women and he doesn't ask for anything in return. You notice they go on home and it's their father who has to say well, how did you get back so early today? Well, this man at the well helped us. Well, why didn't you invite him home? And so they go back, they get him and he says, yes, I'll come, and it opened up the next phase of his life.

Audrey McCracken: 17:56

And it opened up the next phase of his life, you know, by getting out of his own head, by looking to the needs of other people, by just being himself. I believe Moses was not looking for anything, he wasn't trying to impress anybody. That's just who he was. He was the kind of person that wanted to see justice served. He was the kind of person who wanted to help those who were in need. He was the kind of person to water somebody else's flock. And because of that, god put him at the right place at the right time and it opened the door to the next part of his life. From there, he found a new family, he found his wife, he found his new career. He became a keeper of his father-in-law's sheep For 40 years. He followed those sheep around the desert. God used that time to humble him, to prepare him, to get him ready for the next assignment. God gave Moses a family. He gave paired him up with the right people and he opened the door to the next phase of his life that he needed in order to grow, in order to do what God had called him to do.

Audrey McCracken: 19:19

And all of that just by watering some sheep, just by taking care of some people who needed help and I know there's a lesson in that. Things that we may feel are insignificant. Well, that's just what you do. That's just doing what God asked us to do. But you never know when. Just doing the things that you know to do and the things that to you just seem natural. Well, of course, that's the kind of things God's asked us to do. You know, maybe it's just taking care of your little ones. You know, maybe it's taking care of somebody in your community that God's laid on your heart. You know, maybe it's doing something that, to you, it's just that's just what you do, it's what we do as Christians. To you, it's just that's just what you do. It's what we do as Christians. But by doing those things, even in hard times, even when we're struggling with our own issues and getting outside of our own needs and our own self and looking into the needs of other people, god will open up doors for us for the next phase, because that's how he works.

Audrey McCracken: 20:35

Years ago, before Michael and I had children, we had been married for a little over a year. We had bought a little home and we were going to stay in this little house until we could save enough money to build a home of our own. And as we'd been living in a house for about 13 months, we had a house fire and I won't one, that's a whole nother podcast. But we lost everything. We were young and we were not well insured and it was a very hard time because we were afraid we didn't know what we were going to do and we were in such a hurry to get married, to get the house and get the insurance and all that stuff that we did not know who knew this would happen. That was a scary time for us. I'm very thankful that we didn't have kids at that time, but I remember there were so many things to be done and we had nothing. We literally had the clothes on our back, everything in the house was destroyed and we moved in with my mom and dad for a season and God was faithful. But it was a trying time. It was a very hard time.

Audrey McCracken: 21:58

So a lot of questions. You know why Lord? Why the Lord gave us a lot. He really helped us during that time. We grew light years. You know we look back now and you think you know I grew so much during that trial. But it was not fun at the time and I think when I look back now I remember there was a season that it was like okay, you know we've gone through this. It took us a long time to get back on our feet, to kind of get, you know where we felt stable again, to get a new home, to move out of my parents' house, and you know it took us a while. But I remember one day I was praying. It was like the Lord, you know, just impressed on my heart.

Audrey McCracken: 22:43

Okay, audrey, it's time to get your mind off of you. You've got to get your mind on other people, because the longer you think about what you don't have and what you lost and how you wish things were different, then those things become bigger and bigger and you have to move on. And guys I'm just talking about losing a house I know people who've lost a lot more than material things. I think I just lost a house and I had to go through a time of mourning. So people who have lost a lot more than that I can only imagine.

Audrey McCracken: 23:20

But I'm thankful for that season and getting to that point where it was like, okay, now I have to start thinking about others, because I've been so consumed with me that you know I don't want to live in fear. I was living in fear of well, what if that happened again? Well, what if we build and that happens again? And you know there was a lot of processing that we had to go through and a lot of, you know learning to trust the Lord all over again in different ways. And I don't understand it all. I just know he was faithful and I remember when he started moving us towards. Okay, now it's time to start living again. It's time to start living again. You know it's time to start trusting again. And you know, guys, this is a journey. It's a journey.

Audrey McCracken: 24:15

There are seasons. There are seasons when you have to take care of you. There are seasons when you have to take care of your needs. There are seasons when you know you have to look inward and you have to say, okay, I need healing in this area, I need help in this area. But as you walk with the Lord, you have to transition into the next season. Okay, now the Lord has done something in me and now it's my turn to be a blessing to somebody else, and that brings new life. And I just encourage you in that.

Audrey McCracken: 24:53

No matter what season you're in, know that it's okay to have needs, it's okay to get those needs met. But if you can find somebody to water, if you can, right in the middle of your hard time, right in the middle of your transition, right in the middle of you know, like Moses, who he's fleeing for his life and he has no idea how all this is going to work out. But he decides to water somebody else's sheep and God brings blessing. I encourage you to find somebody else that needs you, that needs a blessing, and be that blessing. They need to see that God loves them. They need to see that God cares for them. They need to see that they're important, because they're important enough for somebody to take time to be there for them. It will bring new life to you, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Audrey McCracken: 25:59

I've said too much already, but I love you and I believe in what you're doing, and I know that God is doing a work in us as moms, as women, as his daughters, and he delights to see us coming after him. Father, we thank you for your faithfulness. You know what you put in us. We only get glimpses every now and then, but you know that, lord, we are more than conquerors. Lord, you know that you put good stuff in us.

Audrey McCracken: 26:34

Lord, you know that and I pray, lord, that you would help us to start seeing ourselves as life givers and, lord, as those who you've put on this earth to be a blessing and will help us give out. Show us the opportunities around us every day to give out, to bless, to love, to encourage, and, lord, I just thank you for it. Give us eyes to see, lord, the opportunities. Help us not to miss them. And, lord, when we got to take care of ourself, help us not to feel guilty about that either. Lord, help us to see ourself. On that road, on that journey, that Lord, there are twists, there are turns, there are bends. We don't know what's ahead, but we know you're there and you're with us right now, walking with us on this journey, and we just give you praise and we thank you for it, lord, in Jesus name, amen.