Do you have LIFE all together?

I had an interesting conversation today with a complete stranger.  And to be honest, it took me aback, and I'm still pondering how I should have responded, why this lady thought what she spoke, etc.

Scenario:  I'm one tired 6 month pregnant lady in nursing scrubs, just coming off a short Lactation nursing shift, scrambling to pick up Jackson (day 2 MDO, still screaming when I dropped him off, very tired because he's been up all day, but overall happy to see his mama), and I dash next door to our church's consignment sale to briefly browse.  Jackson is in his stroller, and he's starting to get antsy that I'm conversing with my friends there, quickly browsing, and then I'm realizing that I'm being selfish in my time and need to get this baby to bed (although he later only slept for 40 minutes).

A young woman on my row of boys' clothing items spoke up and said, out of nowhere, "Wow, you make me look bad.  Here you have a toddler, a baby on the way, it appears you've been working, and I don't do any of that!  You have it all together." 

To be honest, I don't even know what I said.  Other than laugh it off and say, "Yea right," I really don't remember.  I was truly taken aback by her comment and her perception of me.  I asked about her children and she has a four year old and a 9 month old at home.

I've been pondering what she said because I thought, "Do any of us really have it all together?"

I don't care whether you have kids, are single, newly married, are in your 80's, do any of us really have it all together?  Is life organized and "in control" for anyone?

While the media, blogs, books would have you believe that there's a 1, 2, 3 step solution for getting your life together, I don't believe it exists.  I think we all look at each other, thinking the person next to us "has it made," "has it all together," "they have no stress or financial worries or debt or anxiety in their life."

I think we feel these emotions as a mercy from God, to keep us humble, to make us rely solely on HIM.  There are days I feel like my world is spinning so fast and I can't keep up:  We're about to have 2 kids, I'll be all alone while my husband is busy with tax season and out of town, what do I do about work, jobs, cleaning the house, cooking, how do I function with a newborn and a toddler, ailing grandparents, crises in Syria, crises in politics, dealing with my own sins, etc.

Then there are days when God gives me His overwhelming mercy and strength and energy, and I can say, "Okay, this was a good day.  Jackson was sweet, we had a great time together, I actually got dinner on the table, I actually cleaned a toilet, and I still have energy leftover to smile and spend time with my husband when he gets home from work."

I wish I could rewind my previous conversation with this woman and encourage her, encourage her in God's grace and mercy, remind her that I DON'T have it all together, but that by God's awesome, divine strength, He gets me through each and every day.

Thanks for listening to my musings.  I have been thinking about posting something along these lines for a while, and this little lady today kicked me into action to actually do it.

Does anyone out there agree with what I'm saying??

Verses to reflect on:

"The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."  Exodus 15:2

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."  Nehemiah 8:10

"Do not grow weary in doing good."  II Thessalonians 3:13

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:28-31