🌸MOMENT Reflection | Start Where You Are

📖 Scripture

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
— Psalm 34:18

🌸 MOMENT Reflection

Start Where You Are

Sometimes life changes before we are ready for it.

Someone we love dies. A relationship changes. A job ends. A child grows up and needs us differently. Our health, responsibilities, family, finances or plans take a turn we did not expect.

And suddenly, here we are.

That is when the words “begin again” can start to feel different.

They sound hopeful. And they can be.

But telling someone to begin again can feel like a lot when they are still trying to understand what just happened.

A woman who has lost her husband may not be thinking about her “next chapter.” She may be wondering how she is supposed to walk into the house without him.

Someone grieving a parent may be discovering that it does not matter how old you are—you can still feel the absence of being someone's child.

A caregiver whose life has revolved around someone else's needs may not even know what she needs anymore.

And sometimes there has been no major tragedy at all. You just know something has changed.

So maybe beginning again does not always start with a plan.

Maybe it starts with telling the truth about where you are.

God, I am tired.

God, I miss them.

God, I thought my life would look different.

God, I do not know what to do next.

God, I am grateful...and I am still hurting.

Those prayers count too.

Psalm 34:18 does not say God is near only after the brokenhearted have recovered. It says He is near to the brokenhearted.

Right there.

In the middle of it.

I think sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to turn difficult experiences into lessons too quickly. We start looking for the testimony before we have even had time to acknowledge the pain.

But God does not need us to rush.

There are seasons when faith looks like moving forward.

And there are seasons when faith looks like getting out of bed, doing what needs to be done, whispering a prayer and trusting God with the rest of the day.

That is still faith.

Maybe you are standing at the beginning of something you did not choose.

You do not have to erase what came before.

You do not have to know where this is going.

And you certainly do not have to pretend that you are ready when you are not.

Start where you are.

Because you are not starting from nothing.

You are starting from here.

And God is here too.

Take a MOMENT

Before you think about what comes next, ask yourself:

Where am I—really—right now?

What has changed?

What am I carrying?

What do I miss?

What am I afraid to say out loud?

And what do I need from God today—not next month, not next year, but today?

A Prayer

Lord,

You know exactly where I am.

You know what has changed, what I am carrying, what I miss and what I still do not understand.

Help me not to rush myself just because the world keeps moving.

Meet me here.

Give me what I need for today, and when it is time to take another step, help me take it with You.

Amen.

MOMENT: You do not have to be ready for a new beginning to begin.
You are not starting from nothing. You are starting from here.

Pause. Pray. Be honest. Begin.

❤️ Every MOMENT Matters.

— Monica Lynne Wilkins
MOMENT Moms™
MOMENTMoms.org

🌸 A MOMENT: Still His Daughter

My daughter is a daddy’s girl from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

There is a special softness in the way she looks at her father. She knows she is loved. She knows she can call for him. She knows that when Daddy is near, she has his attention, affection and protection.

Sometimes, as I watch them together, I think, She is such a blessed little girl.

My parents were separated for years and eventually divorced when I was young. I did not grow up knowing what it felt like to be a daddy’s girl—not even close. For a long time, I thought that kind of relationship belonged to other daughters.

As I grew older, however, God began to show me something that my childhood had not taught me:

I am a Daddy’s girl too.

Not because my earthly experience was perfect.
Not because the years I missed no longer mattered.
But because I have a Father in heaven who has always known my name.

📖 “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
— Romans 8:15

Abba is a word of closeness. It reminds us that God is not a distant figure watching our lives from far away. Through Christ, we are welcomed into a relationship with Him as beloved daughters.

Some women grew up with fathers who made them feel safe, seen and deeply loved. That is a beautiful gift.

Others grew up with fathers who were absent, emotionally unavailable, inconsistent or unable to give the love their daughters needed. Some are grieving fathers they loved dearly. Others are still healing from relationships that were complicated or painful.

Our stories are not the same.

But the invitation of our heavenly Father is extended to every one of us.

He does not ask us to pretend that an empty place never existed. He meets us there.

📖 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.”
— Psalm 68:5

God sees the little girl who wondered why her father was not there.

He sees the woman who learned to be strong because she felt she had no one to protect her.

He sees the daughter who is caring for an aging father, grieving a father or trying to forgive one.

And He says, You are still Mine.

You can call for Him.

You can bring Him the questions you never had the opportunity to ask. You can tell Him about the moments that still hurt. You can rest in His presence without earning His attention or competing for His affection.

His love is not inconsistent.

His presence is not temporary.

His promises are not dependent upon your performance.

Watching my daughter with her father reminds me of what a blessing it is for a girl to feel secure in her daddy’s love. But it also reminds me that the deepest security available to any of us comes from knowing that we belong to God.

Whatever your relationship with your earthly father has been, it does not determine your worth as a daughter.

You are known.
You are wanted.
You are protected.
You are loved.

Through our Father in heaven, we can all discover what it means to be held by a faithful Father.

We are still His daughters.

And in the most beautiful and eternal sense, we are all Daddy’s girls.

🌸 Your MOMENT to Reflect

What part of your earthly-father story do you need to place in the hands of your heavenly Father?

🙏🏾 A MOMENT Prayer

Father, thank You for calling me Your daughter. Meet me in the tender places of my story—the memories I cherish and the places that still need healing. Help me receive the love, security and belonging You offer me. Remind me that I do not have to earn Your attention or wonder whether You will remain. Teach me to rest in the truth that I am known, wanted and deeply loved by You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.
Every moment matters.