The Land of Misfits

December 17, 2012

Sometimes, as a mother, I sit back and second guess some of the decisions I've made.
Some are little ones, that won't have a lasting impact.

For example, when Aubree fell sick this week I thought it was a cold.
I wanted it to be a cold so bad!
I delayed bringing her to the doctor.
If I got the flu diagnosis then I would have to cancel her birthday party.
Yeah. Well, she probably suffered more than she would have had to
because I waited too long for her to be able to get Tamiflu.

Other things have the potential to be life affecting.
Those are the things that I beat myself up over.
Even when they are things that I've prayed about and have moved forward in obedience to God.
I ache. I pray more. I lament.

But, you know, I have to realize that if I have the faith I say I have,
If I truly believe with my whole heart,
Then I have to accept that this is all in God's plan.
Every difficult journey my kids walk through is ordered by God.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23

Even though I want to step in and fix what I perceive to be wrong,
I need to sit back and pray for God's will and peace to prevail.
It's just that when things look different in our lives than they do in the world,
I automatically have a tendency to think that things are going to turn out badly,
Or that I've somehow failed as a parent.
That, perhaps, my decisions, even though they were prayerfully made, are wrong.
And in the eyes of the world, they may be.
But, I don't serve this world.
I answer to God, the Creator of the world.

"'For I know the plans I have for you, ' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

So, let's encourage each other, fellow Christian parents.
We've got some of the most difficult jobs out there.
And let's face it, in all honestly, there is an army attacking us everywhere we turn,
Telling us that we are failing, that we're getting it wrong.
Teasing us with fears that we are hurting our children
if we don't do this, or let them do that.
There are images of what it's supposed to look like
every time we turn on the TV or log on to Facebook.
Heck, last night I was in the parking lot of Target
where a meth lab exploded in someone's car.
At TARGET! Fire trucks, police, and the HazMat team!

I don't know about you, but I've got one goal-
HEAVEN!
For me and my family.
I'm not going to let a lost world tell me how to get there for the sake of fitting in.

"Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:17-21