I have found myself uttering these three words in my conversations lately.  Conversations that go something like this…

 

My friend (or family member, or student, or colleague, etc...you get the point):  So, how are you doing with all of this?

 

Me:  Honestly, not great.  I am getting tired of wearing a mask, of social distancing, of not getting to be with my students, of not being able to go out to eat at my favorite restaurant, of not being able to go sit at a baseball game, of the possibility of not getting to “see” my son graduate, of the possibility of online school in the fall, of missing out on SO MANY things, etc, etc  (again, you get the point).

 

And I usually follow this up with something like:  “when can we just get back to normal?  ENOUGH is ENOUGH!”    

 

This has got me thinking about the word enough.  The official definition of the word is “as much as is required”.  So if you think about the phrase “enough is enough”, it seemingly doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Because what you’re really saying is “as much as is required is as much as is required”.  A little redundant, don’t you think?  But as I thought about that more and simply changed the inflection, where I landed was “enough IS enough”.  Said another way, when we have as much as is needed, then we have enough.  

 

So I go back to my list.  Do I NEED to go to my favorite restaurant?  Do I NEED to go to a baseball game?  Do I NEED to be selfish and not wear a mask in public?  Do I NEED to “see” my son graduate in order for him to do so?  And of course, the answer is no.  I don’t need these things, these are all blessings, things I took for granted only a few short weeks ago.  All I really need is God and His abundance of grace in my life.  These rambling thoughts led me to this scripture.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

 

God and His amazing grace is SUFFICIENT.  I admit that in this challenging time, I have been weak and I have wished away moments that God was probably trying to use to change me, mold me, make me better.  As much as I likely missed God’s point during this season, I want to acknowledge that it’s OK for us to long for all of the things we are missing out on.  God understands and He knows we are struggling.  But at the end of the day, His grace will always be there and there is nothing that HIS POWER cannot achieve through our weakness and hardships.  In fact, Paul goes on to say in this scripture that “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, SO THAT Christ’s power may rest on me”. As you try to embrace, admit, and even boast of your weaknesses over the last few weeks, how have you seen God’s power step in for you?  What is He trying to do in your life right now; without the restaurants and the baseball games and the time hanging out with friends?  Is there something that God is teaching you, a gift he is giving you, an unlikely blessing in your life from God?

 

I, for one, have learned that I have all I need and I am so blessed to have one heck of a family, some pretty great friends who check in often, and a beautiful place to “shelter”.  Enough IS enough and I definitely have enough in my life!  I pray you can all find enough in your own lives and when this passes, may we view our world and the privileges we have differently and praise God even more for what He has done for us!