I'm sure it's hard to tell from this image...but it's a baby cardinal tucked away in our jasmine...tiny, fragile and exposed. Mom and dad were out scouring up some good grub this morning...so I tried to carefully snap a couple...before I was dive bombed like a P-40 in 1942...which resulted in injury (to me and the chair I USED to be standing in)...which also resulted in disinfectant, Neosporin and Nemo band aids...and now a limp...which I’d like to keep on the DL...especially when it comes to my husband! (J, just in case your reading this...yes, the camera and lens are fine...I checked!) Dang, what I won't do for a picture - thank goodness I don't work for National Geographic; my liability would be GINORMOUS! :)
Anyhoo...over the last 2 weeks I have been gently and humbly reminded of how small I am. Not physically...especially after baby number 2, and definitely not as small as I wanna be. But how I sometimes jump to conclusions, assume the worst in others or ignore my God-given sense of shut up instinct and in the end…feel small. I think it's God's way of reminding me that I am not the all-powerful, super-human, awesome mama control goddess that I think I am - and that's a GOOD thing!
For instance, last week I kept telling my daughter..."Come on, Em, hurry up, we have to go, let's go, get moving...I don't want to hear it, we're late!" In a small, sad little voice she finally said, "But mama, I can't find my shoes." If I had just stopped to listen. Small...
Or when I've assumed that my husband means something terrible by "You're gonna wear that?"...when in actuality he means, "You can't wear that, cause now you look better than me!" :) Instead of asking what he meant, I assumed he meant the worst, when he was really giving me a compliment! Small...
Or when I kept worrying over a situation for days (OK, months)...and when I was praying for just a Pinto and He gave me a BMW...I'm suddenly stunned! Why should I be surprised? God is bigger than my worry, but when I prayed, did I really believe what I was praying for or to WHOM I was praying? Small...
So now I am faced with the challenging reality of praising God for those times when I am reminded of my smallness. I have to learn to raise my glass with gusto to all of those times when I am humbled, or when frankly, I am cut off at the knees...or pushed off my chair by a ticked off mama cardinal!
2 Corinthians 12:10 (The Message)
7-10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Yep - limitations, mistakes, assumptions, a big mouth and a big head are not fun things to learn, but it reminds me that because of Christ, my weaknesses make me strong. Because of His grace, I'm forgiven...thank goodness! Because of His mercy...I don't get what I REALLY deserve!
Thanks Emma for being patient with this hurried mama.
Thanks J for loving me when I assume you mean the worst.
And thanks to all of you...family, friends, clients, strangers...for recognizing my weaknesses and giving me a chance anyway to share my talent...for then I am strong!
I'll try to take a few more pictures as the baby cardinal grows to show you his humble progress…and mine...:)
Now I should probably go and take some Advil and change my band aids...
No comments:
Post a Comment