You're probably wondering about the title...my daughter Isabella loves to clean-she comes by it honestly. I am a shameless clean freak. One morning I was working away in the kitchen while she had the mop I'd left out overnight to dry. And I look over to check on her and my then-7-month-old son, and say the five words I never thought I'd say as a parent, "Isabella, don't mop your brother!" He didn't mind, and she just wanted to make sure he was sparkly. So welcome to my world!



Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Are you God?


Photo courtesy of freefoto.com
So the other morning I was reading our daily Bible story. (The books by Stephen Elkins are highly recommended! Short stories, adorable illustrations, and a matching song. I digress.) We were reading about God, naturally, and Isabella asked, "Mommy, are you God?" "No, honey, I'm not," I answered and moved on.
But I've been rolling that one around in my head for a while. Don't I assume God's role sometimes? As one who provides food and clean clothes, who calms the fears, heals the boo-boo, schedules the days, teaches the lessons, hands out the discipline, and gets us all over the place, doesn't it seem like I have the control, the power? I am a control freak by nature. I like to know what's going on and what's coming next. So sometimes being able to pull the strings on our lives and run the show is a thrill. Problem? Solved. Issue? Handled. Playdate? Played. Maybe it's a problem all moms deal with and maybe it's just me. Do we all feel like god with the power to run our lives?
Now, theologically I know that I have no power and provide nothing-it all comes from God's hand. I don't truly provide our food-that's God. I can only patch a boo-boo; God is the ultimate Healer. And I can calm Isabella down when "there's funder in my window!" but only God can calm the storm.
So it's a daily struggle to realize that I'm not God in my world. I can't do anything on my own. I'm not the one in control as much as I'd like to think I am. In reality I've just been chosen to lead these little ones to Him, entrusted with my children's hearts. I'm a shepherd, a manager, a John the Baptist: I'm not the main event, I'm just pointing the way to the One so so SO much greater than I am.
Just a little something for me to remember.

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