The special needs juggling act many parents struggle to maintain is a lot like moving. I discovered truth last month when we moved for the first time in 26 years. After dropping the ball numerous times, I was certain I wasn’t good enough. But Philippians 1:6 reminded me that I don’t have to be good enough because He is.

For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

The past few months have been a juggling act, and I’ve dropped more than a few balls. The first drop came to light when my husband balanced the checkbook and discovered several withdrawals I’d forgotten to record. The second landed repeatedly on my virtual assistant who has responded to queries of the “Was I supposed to take care of that?” nature by patiently reiterating what I’d promised to do earlier. But the worst drop came at Christmas when I purchased the wrong Brio train accessory for our 4-year-old grandson to unwrap. An epic grammy fail if there ever was one.

This juggling act won’t end any time soon. Thanks to our upcoming move, none of my tricks that keep life moving along smoothly are working. I make to do lists in my planner, and a new wrinkle appears that annihilates the to do list. Or I can’t find the planner because its usual place has disappeared. Or I eventually find the planner only to discover all the pencils are packed away.

Some days the enormity of what remains to be done, despite what’s already been accomplished thanks to generous portions of God’s grace, feels overwhelming. My heart recoils each time a ball gets dropped, an invitation must be turned down, or a grandchild is disappointed. You aren’t good enough, my inner perfectionist whispers. You will never be good enough.

Those words carry truth that threaten to destroy me. But according to scripture, those words are not the whole truth. The whole truth is that God doesn’t expect me or any other person to be good enough to complete a solo juggling act. The whole truth is that God designed us with imperfections so that we will call out to him when life is too big and too much to handle alone. Which, in my experience, is pretty much all the time. Maybe it is for you, too.

The God who designed us to need him at all times provides further truth to banish the crafty inner perfectionists who mess with our heads. The God who began a good work in me, our Father instructs each of us to say when the whisperer of half-truths invades our thoughts, will be faithful to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

The whole truth is that we don’t have to be good enough because God’s promises are enough, and his word is sure. When we can’t do enough or be enough, despite our best efforts and dogged obedience, God is enough. When the ground around us is littered with balls we have dropped, God is enough. When we are not enough, we can boast in our weaknesses because the power of God dwells in us and promises to complete the good work he began in us. He’s the God we can trust to keep that promise because his goodness and his grace are ever and always more than enough.

How Do You Handle the Special Needs Juggling Act?

Where do you find reassurance when you don’t feel up to the special needs juggling act? Leave a comment to encourage us all!

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