I know it’s probably irritating to have so many links to the same site, but I learn so many things. Today it hit home to the heart of my mommy-ness (Read the original post by Skip Moen here). One of the biggest struggles that I find myself in is fearing for my children’s safety. I could imagine horrible situations and try to figure out how I’d get them out of it (it’s like that game or the TV show where it explained how to get out of these life-threatening situations). And then I read about a woman whose daughter taught her a valuable lesson – God has numbered my days, as He numbers the hairs on my head. He knows each one of them (and all the variations of them). He also loves my children. One of the hardest things I have to do is to stop holding on to them so tightly and fearing for their future. It seems like a daily thing that I have to release them back (metaphorically) into God’s care. Granted He always has them, but in my tendency to want to control the possible chaos in their lives (how very Greek of me), binding them tighter and tighter is the opposite direction from that in which I want to go. This commentary reminds me , again, that binding my children tighter to me won’t make them safer or more mine. Rather, stretching out my hand, cutting the bonds, and releasing them to His protection and care is the ultimate goal and the ultimate need. I am still a steward for my children, but I can no more protect them than I can fly (although I think my son might figure out how to do that… he’s certainly trying). Looking at this verse through the perspective of the verbs, I can more deeply understand what YHWH was asking of Abraham. Did Abraham understand that this was a test of his willingness to trust God’s plan and choose His path rather than the path that he could imagine, the one with Isaac? Does it matter? Do first, then if He wants He’ll explain. Sometimes it’s the doing without understanding, the choosing to walk the unknown, to let go, out of faith and out of love, that is the whole point of the test.
From Skip Moen’s post “The Anguish of God”: Even in our religious moments, we still want control. Wow, isn’t that the truth. I think most of humanity’s problems stem from this one issue. We want control. But our control is not a good thing. God’s control is. Most of my stupid decisions come from wanting control and feeling I need control. But God asks me to relinquish this control and allow Him to work and move in a way that may seem out-of-control because it’s not my way of doing things. That’s hard for us control freaks here on earth to do. That’s something I need to work on.
Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. How beautiful are these words! There are days when I am so tired that I’m not really sure how I’m awake. There are times when the budget isn’t working, the bank account is almost empty, my children aren’t well, my husband’s job is not going well, I have a huge project that’s overwhelming me and no time to do it in, and it’s almost too much to bear. I’m not made to carry all of that! I may be responsible for dealing with it, but God didn’t make me strong enough to carry it. At least, not all alone. That’s why I love this verse. It’s all about laying those things down. I can trust God to carry those things and to give me rest. I can put them down at His feet and trust Him to take care of all the details. His rest is more refreshing than any break I can find or make. But I have to come. He’s not going to chase me down and yank my burdens away from me. That’s rude. He allows me to make the choice to come and surrender. He’s waiting for me. And he’s really happy when I get there because He’s big enough for my issues. He’s bigger than my storms. He loves to help me. But He’s waiting for me to remember how much I need Him.