Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Holding it Together


I remember when I was younger I would “play house” a lot. I would take my baby doll and care for her (I only had girl babies – why does a little girl need boys anyways?!) and then of course make meals in my plastic kitchen and take my baby girl for a stroll in her stroller. Recently I have looked back on those days and think about how crazy it is that I am now playing real life house.  

Some could say that I’m living out my childhood dreams. Except I’ve realized quickly that the adult house is far less predictable, planned, or easy. And surprise, surprise there are BOY babies in the real world. What?!!! (love ya, Carter) And there are husbands who help make joint decisions! And not everything you make in the real kitchen tastes good. Oh, and the babies in the real world aren’t silent!!!

I recently learned the lesson that when you reallllly want things to go smoothly, those are the moments when they most certainly will not! Carter has been great. He’s been such a good little baby 95% of the time. It’s the 5% of the time that I get a little worried about J. Some days Carter decides that he will have his meltdown during the 10 minute window that we have a guest after being good all day!!!! I have seriously thought, can you just hold it together child?! Please for your parents dignity!!

This morning I was reading in Colossians.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

In HIM, all things hold together. I needed to hear this. Because real life doesn’t go like the life where baby dolls are silent, plastic kitchens always cook perfect plastic meals, and mamas are always loving and nice. You can step away from make-believe life when you get tired of playing. Real life hasn’t given me a break. And yet, in real life God gives me an assurance. He is before all things. In Him all things hold together.

My parenting, my marriage, my life – they are all held together by the great creator of it all after I trusted in him. When I take control of my life, I worry that things aren’t going according to plan. I’m motivated by selfishness, pride, and vanity. I want things in life to look as perfect as they did in make-believe life.

It’s reassuring to know that even despite life’s imperfections, he holds my life together. He didn’t design a circumstance I can’t handle. When I let God hold together my life he takes the mess of life and makes it something to bring him glory. He takes my imperfections and covers them with the blood of Christ.

You see the imperfect wife and mother sees her need for God. She kneels down in the quiet of the morning and realizes that she wasn’t created to do it alone. She realizes that real life is a lot better than make-believe life. The smile that her not-so-quiet baby makes, it is a gift from God. The love that her husband gives as he works so hard for her and her family, it is a gift from God. And that terrible meal that she made in her real kitchen, well she’s still learning how it’s a gift from God J