Tip of My Iceberg

Being put in charge of an almost five-year-old and his social schedule can be daunting.

Especially if you’ve not spent time around the city where he lives with his family.

We have the wonderful privilege of watching Beck for about five days while his parents take a long-overdue space of time for themselves.

He’s by himself, so it sounded like a cakewalk. Surely John and I could handle one very verbal, very adventurous little boy.

Our first challenge came when we had to get him to a birthday party. We had the address, we used our Google maps app.

And became quite lost.

The party was being held at a bounce house/arcade emporium, and Beck’s entire pre-K class had been invited. Our daughter Courtney had been very intentional about purchasing the right gift–for a girl–and having Beck write his name and birthday wishes on the card.

That went seamlessly.

The issue didn’t come up until we tried to find said bounce house/arcade emporium. There was no indication that it was in a mall, but that’s where the address took us. Being new to this city, we asked at least four people if they could tell us where this place was.

Nobody knew anything about it.

We walked into the mall and found a man with his daughter who was the first person that made us feel like we hadn’t lost our minds.

He knew where this place was. All we had to do was walk through the whole mall to the end to find it.

I didn’t want our stress to impact Beck as he was heading for this party. So John and I stopped talking–we weren’t helping each other at all.

When we finally found the place, we were only ten minutes late, and others were even later than we were.

Beck had a ball. Our lack of understanding of the area didn’t deter him from enjoying his classmate’s birthday party. Our anxiety didn’t take away from his fun with friends.

But stress and anxiety can have a horrific impact on our lives if we don’t take care of our hearts. We get so busy with life, family, work, interests, and everything else that fills our time that it’s a challenge to care for our physical health. Who thinks about soul care or spiritual health?

God cares about every area of our lives. We’re not simply automatons who fulfill necessary roles here on earth. We’re people who need encouragement and affirmation, as well as safe people and safe places where we feel the freedom to be fully us.

King David knew the challenge of living with complicated circumstances, difficult people, and not having the wisdom to deal with it all.

“I cried out, ‘I am slipping!’ but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” Psalm 94:18-19

God knows our every thought before we think them, our every action before we move on them. But it’s human to doubt His goodness; people today want a God they can see. Trusting in Someone we can’t see can be a challenge.

God isn’t bothered by any of that. He has our best at heart, and He never quits on us, even when we quit on Him.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is FINALLY FINISHED on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

God has the most incredible party planned for all who choose to spend eternity with Him. No more pain, suffering, shame, guilt, or fear. We will be in His presence for all time.

Pure joy.

Will you join the party? All you have to do is ask.