They're not out there killing it

I messed up. I di it again. How is it that I just can’t get this thing right?  How many times has that gone through your mind? If I’m honest, It goes through my mind a lot. I immediately recall the people I look up to and think, how are they out there killing it at this life thing and I’m  here starting over? 

 Well, they’re probably not.  But they do have a secret weapon you may not know about.  They understand mercy and grace. As Paul starts this conversation in Romans 7:15, I do not understand my own actions. I do the things I don’t want to do…, He’s been there. The bottom line. We are human. It takes a few mess ups.

When I think of this I remember my son’s experience when he was about three years old. We live on a farm so we have electric fence dividing the farm from the house and yard to keep the cows where they belong.  Since he could walk, I have told him; “Don’t touch the fence, it will hurt you.”  We couldn’t move the fence to keep him from getting hurt, he just had to learn not to touch it. As you can probably guess, a 3 year told not to do something is like telling a gorilla not to eat the banana. He touches the fence. He yells and cries. I go over to him, pick him up, hold him and point to the fence.  I gently tell him, “this fence will hurt you.”  I put him down anticipating that now he knows.  The next day I hear a little scream then a cry.  I look around the corner where he was playing with his trucks. He touched the fence again. I knew what he was thinking. The fence on one side of the yard hurt me, but maybe this side won’t. So I repeat my drill. I pick him up. Tell him its ok. Point to the fence. This fence will hurt you.  There. That ought to do it. Two days later. We are out in the front of the house and he is standing by the fence watching his dad feed the cows. He grabs the fence. Scream. Cry. Pick up. Point to fence. Put child down. I think he finally got it.  It took three times for him to realize that the fence behind the yard, side of the yard and the front yard are all the same fence.

No one gets everything right the first time. Trial and error. Just remember that in between the trials, we have a loving Father who picks us up, wipes our tears, gently reminds us that this is not what is good for you then puts us down to learn again. Mercy. Grace.

The call to action for today. As you realize the mercy and grace that is given to you, extend this to others around you. We are all human, in this together and sometimes just need a gentle reminder from others that its OK not to be perfect. Do-overs are a thing.

Fear and Fire

I have a new favorite movie. I spent last weekend watching Skyscraper, twice. I’m surprised at how much I loved this movie since I can’t get to the third rung of a ladder without anxiety. I wig out even watching videos of people washing widows on tall buildings. So as you can probably guess, this movie is about a skyscraper so it is filled with some of the most death defying, height challenging scenes. I think I spent most of it curled up in the fetal position. If you haven’t seen it, I don’t know if there are spoilers or not so read on at your own risk.

The basis of the movie is about a father, Will Sawyer, who would do whatever it takes, even to his own death to save his family from this burning skyscraper.  He loves his family more than his own life. I spend the first hour and 15 minutes holding my breath until I get to this scene. When all seems lost, when Will promises he will find a way out but flames and destruction have surrounded them with absolutely no hope for rescue, this happens. He takes his daughter in his arms. He sits down behind her and surrounds her with himself and all he says to her is “I got you. I got you.”

This is when the tears start to fall. I am in the mind of this little girl and I know that even if I perish right now, my father, who loves me more than life itself, is holding me in his arms, going through the fire with me, and he says the only thing I need to hear right now , “I got you.” Hearing that safe and secure voice, the fear melts away and no matter what happens, as long as I’m with Him, I am ok.

I feel like I’ve been there many times in my life, surrounded by fire with no way of escape. That’s when I hear, “I got you.”  The fear melts away and I again have the strength to face the fire. Safe.  Secure. No matter what.