San Francisco 49ers v Carolina Panthers

Feels Like Flying and Other Myths

feelslikeflyingThe other day, I read someone say that when you’re doing exactly what you’re created to do, you feel like you’re flying.

I admire the sentiment.

The concept actually kind of annoys me. Because I know I’m doing what I was created to do (for this season of life, anyway). And it rarely feels like “flying.”

Sometimes it even feels like drowning.

There are days where the big kids WON’T stop arguing. And there are no clean bottles. And the key ingredient for dinner fell on the floor. And the dogs have to bark at every car that drives by.

I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. But it doesn’t feel one bit like flying.

It’s hard work. And frustration. And a nagging sense of futility.

But it’s something worth doing.

Worth-doing things don’t always feel shiny. Or glamorous. Sometimes, in the moment, they don’t even feel fulfilling.

If a sense of being on top of the world is considered the plumb-line for deciding if my pursuits are worthy, that scares me. Because it places A LOT of emphasis on my feelings. And offers me a chance to give up too easily on something that might be hard and painful, but still completely mine: Completely something I was created to do.

So I’m going to keep at it.

And in between all the chaos, there are moments that pull everything into perspective.

Like when the whole family agrees that dinner is delicious. When one of the big kids says something that let’s me know they really get the Gospel. When the baby grabs me by the earrings to pull me close for a sloppy kiss. When my son sticks up for his little sister in a playground dispute. When my husband cuts some of my favorite outside flowers and puts them in a vase so I can enjoy them inside too.

Those are the moments that feel like winning.

They are why, with my feet planted on the ground, I keep doing exactly what I was created to do. Because I believe beauty is found in mundane. Sometimes you just might have to look really hard for it.

But it’s there.

Please follow and like us:
San Francisco 49ers v Carolina Panthers

The Sovereignty of God and Yogurt

In my last blog, I told people not to be mean when discussing theology. This time, I’m going to talk theology (kinda). So it’s possible that my previous entry was just a ploy to make you be nice to me…

I’ve been wrestling with a lot of big concepts lately.

Like the sovereignty of God. Yes.

Basically, I hear a running debate around me in Christianity, which I’ll sum up like this:

If man has a free will (to make choices about his life and/or salvation) that would negate God’s sovereignty. However, if God is in complete control, then man must not have a free will.

I believe in the sovereignty of God. Completely. But, I mean, man obviously makes choices. We’re not robots or drones. Or puppets.

I was thinking aloud to my husband the other night. And I said, “I don’t really understand why this is a debate. Why, if God gives man a free will, would that make Him any less sovereign? If He lets man have choices, how does that make God any less in control?

Like with our kids. If I say to Isaiah, “Do you want peach yogurt or strawberry yogurt for lunch?” does me offering him a choice mean I’m any less the parent? No one would look at me and say, “Wow, that lady’s kids are so out of control. She let them pick what kind of yogurt they want.”

As parents, we give our kids choices all the time. We give them choices when we don’t care what they decide because either option is good for them. Sometimes we offer two choices, one good and one bad, knowing which one they’ll gravitate towards: “Do you want to stop whining or go to bed?” And then there are those learning choices: “If you want the other kids at the park to play with you, then you need to be kind. It’s your decision.”

Honestly, when parents don’t give their kids choices, it’s a bit disconcerting. Something would feel a bit off if we saw a mom sitting in the playroom with her kid, deciding which toy he would play with next. Most of us, would say, “Back off, Lady! Give your kid some space.”

And when we give our kids controlled choices, it doesn’t negate our authority in their lives. It doesn’t mean the kids are running the show. Often, by giving our kids choices, we are actually shaping their lives more than if we told them every move to make.

So do we think we’re better parents than God the Father?  That’s pretty much what Jesus was asking here:

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11

I think it’s kind of funny that we think our choices could thwart the plans of the God of the Angel Armies. Friends, we are not that big. We’re not that powerful.

He’s a good Father. He knows when to sovereignly give us a choice.

Please follow and like us: