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The Thin Place

Do Not Grow Weary: A Reminder As We Labor On

This article originally appeared on She the Fierce. 

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9

My mom, a saint who is still in the process of raising ten children, quoted this verse to me at least once a month throughout my upbringing. Homeschooling brought some unique challenges, one of which was not being affirmed in how her parenting choices were correct. Until I was in college, it was hard to see where I stood with my peers and how her parenting philosophies held up to time.

Good work: it’s hard. There are many times in my day to day life when I want to simply give up. On laundry, on my marriage, on myself. It is overwhelming to step into another day waiting patiently on the Lord to bring about the harvest. My life has been a long, dry summer and I’m aching for rain from heaven.

Judging from the people around me, I’m not alone. We are all waiting on something. On the marriage that will make us feel complete, on the children that will fill our hearts, on children that let us sleep through the entire night, on a season to slow down, on the house that we’ve been eyeing, on our husband to notice the make-up we labored over; the list never ends. We all are waiting on the Lord as we labor through the days, doing good.

So I make another pot of coffee, I transfer the laundry, and I pour myself out like rain on the lives of the people around me. Because while I’m waiting for my rain, I can’t miss the opportunity to bring about the relief they need to help their harvest grow.

The seeds of a freezer meal, a cup of coffee, a listening ear; we don’t always see the fruit they bring. Even rarer is the fruit of diligent work in the home, patience towards children who are on your last nerve, or the kind word that turns away wrath. The labor we do in our homes is not often acknowledged. Trudging is probably the most accurate description most days. We trudge on into the labor God has put before us.

But the thing is, it’s not just the end we’re waiting for. The process matters. Our lives are transformed in these small moments when we sacrifice what we can see for the truth that God has redeemed even our small, unseen work of cleaning toilets. Even this is an act of trust that our work in creation matters, for creation will be restored. So we restore what is in front of us and give to God our best efforts.

My mom’s story doesn’t end in endless labor, wondering what God will do. It has been peppered with His goodness and glimpses of the fruit her labor has brought about. But even that isn’t satisfying.

While we think we just want to see our part, the beauty that God allows us to see in this world, the moments when we feel the fulfillment of our labor, ultimately never satisfy for they point us on to an even greater work, God’s renewed creation. One day, the fruit of every seed planted will be fulfilled. The laundry, kind words, over-looked offenses, they will blossom and we will be drawn to Zion and will see all of the glory this has led to.

So don’t give up. Keep working diligently and joyfully with the tasks placed before your hands. God is redeeming these moments of frustration and weariness. He is preparing your life and your heart. Wait for the season of harvest and be the nourishing rain to those around you. In the end, you will find yourself renewed and prepared for the eternal weight of glory.

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The Comments

  • Mayr Leigh
    September 28, 2017

    First, the photos in this post are absolutely gorgeous! Second, this is a really beautiful reminder. I love how you said that God is redeeming the moments of frustration. This really resonated with me!

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Mayr Leigh
      October 3, 2017

      Thank you for your kind words. They do my heart good.

      Reply
  • Bethany
    September 28, 2017

    ” It is overwhelming to step into another day waiting patiently on the Lord to bring about the harvest” I loved this line! That’s exactly how it feels. Every day , it’s important to keep our eyes on the big picture. What we plant now will be our harvest. Thanks for an encouraging and thought-provoking post!

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Bethany
      October 3, 2017

      We need to keep on striving for that manna, trusting that He will provide it.

      Reply
  • Jessica
    September 30, 2017

    This is food for the soul. I love your heart here. How you pour yourself out like rain, even while waiting for your own rain – LOVE THAT! Thank you for this encouragement.

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Jessica
      October 3, 2017

      Thank you, Jessica.

      Reply
  • Karla Cruzado | The Wise Lark
    October 4, 2017

    I came accross the same verse recently! 🙂 we might be using the same devo app? HAHA! Hold on! Don’t give up! ❤️

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Karla Cruzado | The Wise Lark
      October 8, 2017

      Haha, I typically don’t use a devotional app but I love that God is using this message for His people all over the world.

      Reply
  • Juliette | Namastay Traveling
    October 4, 2017

    Such a beautiful post. Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous! I love the one of the sunflower.

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Juliette | Namastay Traveling
      October 8, 2017

      Thank you, Juliette. The sunflowers were a lovely little surprise from my husband.

      Reply
  • Jen E
    October 4, 2017

    I think what we miss so often (especially in the seemingly meaningless tasks) is that the practice of obedience is what we’re learning. You’re so right, some tasks seem like they don’t matter But if we stay faithful to what we said we would do, God opens our eyes and allows us to see beauty in the struggle, the everyday, and the mundane. I remember times of doing laundry, when pulling out wads of paper that at first agitated me, but it ended up having a drawing or a note from one of my kids that opened me up to parts of their day & their thoughts that I would have not seen before. This post is such a lovely reminder to press on.

    Reply
    • Bailey
      Jen E
      October 8, 2017

      Keep going, friend. He will be faithful and you will reap a harvest.

      Reply
  • SHaylah Coogan
    October 4, 2017

    Beautiful words and one of my favorite scriptures. Love your photos too!

    Reply
    • Bailey
      SHaylah Coogan
      October 8, 2017

      Thank you, Shaylah.

      Reply
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May 1, 2022
Hello, I’m Bailey
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Hello, I’m Bailey

The Thin Place was born out of a season of struggle. A season where I felt stretched thin and desperately longed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. The goodness of God showed up in unexpected ways. During that season, the spiritual disciplines laid out in Scripture, the traditions of the Church, and the reminders of His faithfulness seen in liturgial living and the feasts and seasons of the Church calendar all opened my eyes to the hope we have in Christ.

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Chances are, the Books of Maccabees are probably the deuterocanonical books you are most familiar with!  It is in these books that we find the origins of Hanukkah.
To be honest, they are a rough read. A really rough read. They detail the suffering the people of God endured while their enemies attempted to control their land and wipe out their religion. 
It is a set of books filled with great suffering as many of the faithful are killed but it is also a book of great bravery and trust in the Lord in the midst of trials.
In Maccabees, two of the theological principles used today are clearly seen. The first, that God created the world out of nothing. 2 Maccabees 7:28 details how God did not make the world out of things already created, but out of nothing. 
The second principle is that of praying for the dead. While there are references throughout Scripture and it is a clear practice of the Early Church, it is most clearly referenced in 2 Maccabees 12. 
#christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy  #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime
thethinplace
thethinplace
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Chances are, the Books of Maccabees are probably the deuterocanonical books you are most familiar with! It is in these books that we find the origins of Hanukkah. To be honest, they are a rough read. A really rough read. They detail the suffering the people of God endured while their enemies attempted to control their land and wipe out their religion. It is a set of books filled with great suffering as many of the faithful are killed but it is also a book of great bravery and trust in the Lord in the midst of trials. In Maccabees, two of the theological principles used today are clearly seen. The first, that God created the world out of nothing. 2 Maccabees 7:28 details how God did not make the world out of things already created, but out of nothing. The second principle is that of praying for the dead. While there are references throughout Scripture and it is a clear practice of the Early Church, it is most clearly referenced in 2 Maccabees 12. #christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime
1 day ago
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Judith is another archetypal story of the battle being won at the hand of a woman, seen also in Judges and Esther. 
During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, an army is sent to destroy the mountain town that Judith lives in. The people are greatly distressed and death seems to be the only option. Judith, a wealthy widow, trusts in the Lord and ultimately, kills the opposing military leader and brings peace to the people.
It is a story of God’s provision for His people in their exile through an unlikely source, a widow. In Judith, we see an archetype pointing to Mary and to the Church, waiting for her true Bridegroom. 
But it is also a story that points to the Lord’s desire to draw all nations to Himself! One of my favorite parts of the book of Judith is that it tells us of the conversion of a man who initially sets out to fight the Jewish people coming to believe in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. 
“And when Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed firmly in God, and was circumcised, and joined the house of Israel.” - Judith 14:10
It beautiful reminder that God’s deliverance is for all mankind. 
#proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword  #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #blessedandhighlyfavored #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #daughterofaking #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #wordbeforworld #encouragingquotes #christianlife #christianencouragement
thethinplace
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•
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Judith is another archetypal story of the battle being won at the hand of a woman, seen also in Judges and Esther. During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, an army is sent to destroy the mountain town that Judith lives in. The people are greatly distressed and death seems to be the only option. Judith, a wealthy widow, trusts in the Lord and ultimately, kills the opposing military leader and brings peace to the people. It is a story of God’s provision for His people in their exile through an unlikely source, a widow. In Judith, we see an archetype pointing to Mary and to the Church, waiting for her true Bridegroom. But it is also a story that points to the Lord’s desire to draw all nations to Himself! One of my favorite parts of the book of Judith is that it tells us of the conversion of a man who initially sets out to fight the Jewish people coming to believe in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. “And when Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed firmly in God, and was circumcised, and joined the house of Israel.” - Judith 14:10 It beautiful reminder that God’s deliverance is for all mankind. #proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #blessedandhighlyfavored #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #daughterofaking #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #wordbeforworld #encouragingquotes #christianlife #christianencouragement
2 days ago
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If there was any Old Testament book I would love to see made into a movie - it would be Tobit! It has everything! Despair! True love! Home remedies! Battles against demons! A quest to find the family treasure! It is truly a dramatic book. Like the book of Esther, it demonstrates God care for His people during their exile. 
Tobit is a narrative book. Like Job, it begins with a man who served the Lord but was met with misfortune so great that he begs the Lord to let Him die. At the same time, a young widow across the country is making the same request. God answers both of their prayers through the intervention of the angel Raphael who, in disguise as a man, helps Tobit’s son on a journey. It is a short, compelling story and, for that reason, it is a really great place to start if you want to read through the Deuterocanonical books.
There is also a beautiful contrast to Adam and Eve seen in the love story of Tobias and Sarah. Where one couple listened to devil and succumbed to temptation, we see the other stand firm in reliance on the Lord. This points us to the future coming of Christ and His defense of His bride, the Church.
#christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy  #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime #miblogger #michiganblogger
thethinplace
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•
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If there was any Old Testament book I would love to see made into a movie - it would be Tobit! It has everything! Despair! True love! Home remedies! Battles against demons! A quest to find the family treasure! It is truly a dramatic book. Like the book of Esther, it demonstrates God care for His people during their exile. Tobit is a narrative book. Like Job, it begins with a man who served the Lord but was met with misfortune so great that he begs the Lord to let Him die. At the same time, a young widow across the country is making the same request. God answers both of their prayers through the intervention of the angel Raphael who, in disguise as a man, helps Tobit’s son on a journey. It is a short, compelling story and, for that reason, it is a really great place to start if you want to read through the Deuterocanonical books. There is also a beautiful contrast to Adam and Eve seen in the love story of Tobias and Sarah. Where one couple listened to devil and succumbed to temptation, we see the other stand firm in reliance on the Lord. This points us to the future coming of Christ and His defense of His bride, the Church. #christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime #miblogger #michiganblogger
3 days ago
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3/5
The Book of Wisdom full of poetic principles and outlines how to live life well. Written around the time of the Maccabean revolt, it is written in the style of Solomon (and is sometimes referred to as “The Wisdom of Solomon”) but was written by later authors.
While this book was not accepted in the Jewish cannon, it is in every copy of the Greek Septuagint but it was quote by St Augustine over 800 times and, most importantly, was declared Scripture at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage. 
It focuses on Wisdom guiding the lives of the faithful, the follies of the wicked, and focuses heavily on our future home with God and the life to come. 
For those of you familiar with the Nicene Creed, the Book of Wisdom is one of the sources of inspiration of our description of Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ being “Light from Light” is taken from Wisdom 7:26 which refers to Wisdom as being a “reflection of eternal light.” 
There are also several passages in Wisdom which foretell the death of Christ. One of my favorite passages is Wisdom 14:7, “Blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes,” which reminds me how truly blessed is the cross which held the Savior of the world, our perfect Sacrifice. 
Wisdom is very similar to the book of Proverbs in length and style. It points constantly to the Lord who, as James tells us, is ready to give wisdom to those who ask. 
#bibletime #biblereading #readyourbible #proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword #savedbygrace #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #givemejesus #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #biblescripture #catholicbible
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
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The Book of Wisdom full of poetic principles and outlines how to live life well. Written around the time of the Maccabean revolt, it is written in the style of Solomon (and is sometimes referred to as “The Wisdom of Solomon”) but was written by later authors. While this book was not accepted in the Jewish cannon, it is in every copy of the Greek Septuagint but it was quote by St Augustine over 800 times and, most importantly, was declared Scripture at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage. It focuses on Wisdom guiding the lives of the faithful, the follies of the wicked, and focuses heavily on our future home with God and the life to come. For those of you familiar with the Nicene Creed, the Book of Wisdom is one of the sources of inspiration of our description of Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ being “Light from Light” is taken from Wisdom 7:26 which refers to Wisdom as being a “reflection of eternal light.” There are also several passages in Wisdom which foretell the death of Christ. One of my favorite passages is Wisdom 14:7, “Blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes,” which reminds me how truly blessed is the cross which held the Savior of the world, our perfect Sacrifice. Wisdom is very similar to the book of Proverbs in length and style. It points constantly to the Lord who, as James tells us, is ready to give wisdom to those who ask. #bibletime #biblereading #readyourbible #proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword #savedbygrace #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #givemejesus #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #biblescripture #catholicbible
4 days ago
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4/5
Until I read the entire Bible last year for the Bible in Lent challenge, I had never read most of the Deuterocanonical / Apocryphal books of the Bible. When I did this, I realized that, aside from a vague notion of Maccabees from Hanukkah books, I had absolutely no idea what the rest of the books contained.
For the next few days, we're going to do a little overview of each of these books in the Bible.
But first, why aren't these books in the Protestant Bible?
Like most of the divides in the Catholic and Protestant conversation, there is a lot of nuances. Luther’s own translation of the Bible included these books although he moved them to a separate section. They were also included in the King James Bible of 1611 and the Geneva Bible even though they were viewed as apocryphal or “outside of Scripture.” It was not standard even in Protestantism to exclude these books from the Bible printing until 1825. 
Essentially, there is a lot of historical evidence that the church throughout history considered these books a part of the Bible. But earlier in the Church, we see evidence of Church leaders such as St. Polycarp, St. Clement of Rome, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine,  affirming some or all of these books as Scripture.
It's clear that historically, believers have seen these books as beneficial so I hope you'll join me in looking at them this week!
#godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
thethinplace
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•
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Until I read the entire Bible last year for the Bible in Lent challenge, I had never read most of the Deuterocanonical / Apocryphal books of the Bible. When I did this, I realized that, aside from a vague notion of Maccabees from Hanukkah books, I had absolutely no idea what the rest of the books contained. For the next few days, we're going to do a little overview of each of these books in the Bible. But first, why aren't these books in the Protestant Bible? Like most of the divides in the Catholic and Protestant conversation, there is a lot of nuances. Luther’s own translation of the Bible included these books although he moved them to a separate section. They were also included in the King James Bible of 1611 and the Geneva Bible even though they were viewed as apocryphal or “outside of Scripture.” It was not standard even in Protestantism to exclude these books from the Bible printing until 1825. Essentially, there is a lot of historical evidence that the church throughout history considered these books a part of the Bible. But earlier in the Church, we see evidence of Church leaders such as St. Polycarp, St. Clement of Rome, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine, affirming some or all of these books as Scripture. It's clear that historically, believers have seen these books as beneficial so I hope you'll join me in looking at them this week! #godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
5 days ago
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5/5
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