Tuesday's Art: A Mother of Seven Children

Dorothea Lange
A Mother of Seven Children
1936

"Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:3-4)

It seems a small comfort to be told our suffering could be so much worse. But it's not. Our struggle against sin isn't only a fight against our baser desires for pleasure and personal gain. It's a fight against all that's wrong with the world, as personified in this iconic photograph by Dorothea Lange of a mother during the Great Depression. Worry is etched so plainly on this woman's face that the image has become a poster for suffering the world heaps upon us even in these great United States. Worry about feeding her children, about where they'll sleep, about how they will survive, if they will. How endless her struggling must have seemed, perhaps even futile, how tired she must have felt.

Rest assured, our struggle against sin--even when we must resist to the point of shedding blood--is never in vain. When you look at this photo, consider Him who endured all... for her. For you. Our suffering, as bad as it is, could be so, so much worse, but it never will be. Jesus saw to that on the cross.

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from Psalm 28:7a

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"In Him my heart trusts, -------> 5 count inhale

and I am helped." -------> 5 count exhale
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