By Marsha Jordan
Our four-year-old grandson spends weekends with us. He used to love rubber stamping and baking with me in the kitchen, but lately he prefers to spend his time with grandpa in the workshop.
My husband restores antique (wood) boats. Cobi loves to "help" him. After strapping his little tool belt around his waist and filling it with his plastic wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, and hammer, he's ready to tear something apart. He saunters into the garage and greets grandpa with "How ya doin' buddy? Let's get to work!" Though he doesn't have a clue about what he's doing, he THINKS he's actually helping. But, most often when he's trying to fix a problem, he's creating a bigger problem and more work for grandpa!
The other day, Tom nearly had a coronary when he turned around just in time to see Cobi stabbing a newly upholstered boat seat with his screwdriver. Grandpa explained that screwdrivers aren't the right tool to use on seat covers, and stabbing isn't the correct way to work on seats, (and besides that, the seats didn't even need any fixing).
It reminded me of how often I use my insufficient skills and tools to "help" God fix things. I don't like to wait for God to work, or I don't like the way He does the job, so I try to work everything out in my own way and my own timing. This often results in more work for God who must come behind me cleaning up the mess I've made. If we let God take control in the first place, we could save ourselves (and HIM too) a lot of frustration.
Like a toddler who uses a screwdriver on the expensive upholstery or a hammer to remove screws, my futile efforts to fix my life is as productive as trying to tear down a building with tweezers and toothpicks. I lack the knowledge to do God's job, so I should stay out of His way and let HIM do it! My trying to control things and help God just creates more problems, and often I don't even know what needs to be fixed.
I'm often so busy trying to control things that I forget I'm not the potter. I'm the clay! Instead of jumping into action immediately, sometimes it's wiser to sit back and wait a while. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, "Be still (or cease your striving) and know that I AM God." Do you sometimes act like YOU are God? Do you want to be the one in charge? God wants us to realize that we are not all powerful. He is and He wants us to give control over to Him. He is so much better at fixing things than we are!
He alone is "able to do immeasurably more than anything we can even imagine."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marsha Jordan, creator of the HUGS and HOPE Club, is a disabled grandma who cares about kids and does whatever she can to help them.
In a new book, author Thomas Baldrick calls Jordan a champion and compares her to Michael Jordan, saying: "She has done for the Internet what Michael Jordan has done for the game of basketball -- raising it to a higher level."
The book "A Million & One Ways to Celebrate a Child" is a powerful collection of real-life stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things for children. Jordan's story, entitled "Love, Happiness, and Sticky Peanut Butter" is one of the many true sources of inspiration in the book. Part of the proceeds from book sales will benefit the HUGS and HOPE Club for Sick Children.
To contact Marsha, email marsha@hugsandhope.com <mailto:marsha@hugsandhope.com>
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