Life as a Human Sponge

All day I absorb. I absorb my kids’ tears. I absorb their kisses. I absorb the mess of the house. I absorb the fatigue of the same old discipline situations. I absorb the tedious preparations of feeding, clothing, teaching…and I absorb my best laid plans flying out the window because of unforeseen changes. 

I absorb interruptions. I absorb unexpected hugs and ear-numbing screams. 

I absorb the sharp pain of a Lego burrowing into the sole of my foot. 

I absorb, “Mooooooooooooom!”

I absorb the toddler’s sticky smiles and the four-year-old’s endless, “Mommy, watch this!” I absorb the bickering, the breakdowns, the bonding. I absorb cold coffee. 

I desperately try to “absorb every moment” of this crazy phase of life because, as I’m constantly told by those older and wiser than me, it goes by so fast. 

By the end of the day I am full to capacity. I can’t absorb another drop. My husband hugs me and tells me I’m his best friend. I smile, but stare blankly. Can’t. absorb. one. more. thing. 

“Is this the best I can give to my family?” I wonder. 

That’s when I go to the Lord and pour everything out onto Him. I wring my heart dry, ready to drink fresh, living water.  

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” (Psalm 62:8)

And it’s there that the Lord reminds me that whatever I absorb, He absorbs with me. His capacity is limitless. In Him I find fresh stores of grace, love, and strength. I will never get too full, I will never be too maxed out. I will start each new day fresh, ready to absorb it all again for the ones I love. 

“And if you give yourself to the hungry

And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in darkness

And your gloom will become like midday.

And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

(Isaiah 58:10-11)

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