Tip of My Iceberg

Go big or go home.

That seems to be our family code. If we were Scottish, we’d have a tartan that incorporated really loud colors and no systematic pattern.

How American.

We had two barbecues this weekend. Both with large amounts of people. Huge amounts of food. Two very tall water slides.

And an inordinate amount of water.

We’ve done this for years. Because of John’s travel schedule and the general inability for us to coordinate time to have folks over for fun, we go all in for a weekend.

Which then takes us the rest of the year to recuperate. And for our lawn to resemble grass rather than a swamp.

But it’s a hoot. Kids sliding, screaming and laughing. Doing tricks that are basically not allowed. Parents wanting to give it a go but hesitant.

The possibility of necessary medical intervention seems to loom.

When I looked at these slides before they were blown up (which ended up tripping just about every circuit in our house), I never imagined how enormous they’d be. They were colorful blobs of heavy plastic. Flat and no fun.

Once blown to what they were intended to be, they were bigger and better than I’d anticipated.

Ridiculously fun.

Before filling, absolutely useless. Except for their ability to kill grass.

After air was added, they became what they were meant to be all along. Vehicles for fun. Springboards to imaginative play.

One parent asked if the slides could withstand the bouncing, jumping, full-out pressure the kids were exerting on these heavy duty balloon-like things.

“They were made for this.”

We laughed. The parent walked on. And I stared at those slides.

They were made for this. To be blown up and bounced on. When they weren’t blown up, nobody could get any use from them. Flat, they were just a blobby, colorful waste of space.

What was I made for?

I was made to know God. To be loved by Him. To thrive in Him. At a heart level.

I find myself struggling often. Not because I don’t have things. Because I’m not in control of what goes on around me.

I can’t even manage consistently good choices.

God knows that. No surprise. And He provides for me what I can’t gain for myself.

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not grow faint.”   Isaiah 40:28-31

I was made to soar. To be filled with the very breath of God so that I might be hopeful.

I’m not talking health, wealth and ongoing prosperity.

I was meant to thrive in hope, love and purpose. Heart wholeness. In Him.

What were you meant to be?