All day, I have struggled.

Struggled with my sense of worth, my sense of worthiness.

I am not a good wife. I’m not good enough. I’m not enough. I’ve only seen my husband for a few minutes each day for the past nine days since his mother entered the hospital. And I think I have failed. Failed him, because he seems to have forgotten that he has a wife and children, has a home of his own. He seeks all of his comfort in his mother’s illness and death—early Saturday morning (was that just yesterday?)—in others, in his father and siblings. And we are left behind. It’s because I’m not enough. I have failed as a wife, so he has turned to others.

I am not a good mother. I’m not good enough. I’m not enough. I struggle with teaching my children God’s word, although I know how valuable it is. I want to show them, to be a living example of someone following God, yet I often fall short of actually teaching them. I am failing as a mother. I’m not good enough.

I am not a good steward. I misuse my money, my time. I have dreams of being able to do more, to minister more, to give more. But why would God trust me with more if I can’t even use what he has already given me appropriately?

I am not a good housekeeper. Just come to my house unexpectedly. Drop-bys are the stuff of my nightmares. If you come to my house without three days’ warning, you will see what I mean.

I am not a good daughter.
I am not a good sister.
I am not a good aunt.
I am not a good friend.
I am not a good teacher.
I am not a good listener.
I am not good enough.

I am not enough.

Cue the song that I thought would be today’s soundtrack, the one I pulled up and watched/listened to on YouTube just a few minutes ago: “Not Enough” by Our Lady Peace from their album Gravity. As I was listening to that, YouTube’s “watch this next” suggestions pulled up another song: Lauren Daigle’s “You Say,” the opening line of which reads, “I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough…”

An algorithm, I know. Someone wrote an algorithm to pull songs and videos with similar lyrics and make suggestions for one based on the other. But when a song comes up reminding me that God loves me, God knows me, that I have worth because he sees worth in me, then I need to cling to that.

Even after the song came up, even after the reminder of how God sees me, I once again proved I am not enough. My husband came home, and instead of being supportive of him, I let my hurt, my frustration, my own anxiety and stress come out in the form of anger toward him. I tried to express what I was feeling, and when he responded by trying to express and explain what he was feeling and what he has been spending his time doing in return, I kept biting back.

The truth is, none of us is enough. I really do fall short—so tremendously short. All of us do. That’s why I so desperately need God. Because he IS enough. Even his name says that: I AM. Without him, I will never be enough, never be the person he created me to be. But although God sees the sinner, he also sees the Savior and my potential as I hide myself in him.

He knows who I am, inside and out, better than anyone ever will—myself included. But but he also knows who I have the potential to be, who he created me to be, who I will be with his help. Amazingly, even knowing all he knows about me, knowing that I will fail again and again, he showed me the most tremendous love there is: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, ESV).

I’m not enough. Still. Every minute, every day. But he is, and for that I am grateful.

Jan. 14, 2019 addendum: I have received such an outpouring of love and support and understanding after this post. I am blessed to have a supportive family in Christ, whether I know you personally or not. Thank you.