A Lesson From the Movie Frozen...Well, Sort Of!

The lyrics read like this: 
"Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway."

If you have a daughter - or son for that matter - somewhere between the ages of two and twenty, you have probably heard them sing these words at least four or five times in the last several months.  I've even found myself singing them throughout the house...at least the "Let it go" part.  By the time I get that out, my kids have run screaming into the other room, with their hands clasped tightly covering their ears. 

The lyrics came from a movie called Frozen, and while the song has a catchy tune, with lifting lyrics and rhythms, I can't say that I agree with the song's intentions.   Basically, the character singing the tune is spouting her new-found "freedom" by "blowing off" everyone that she ever knew and loved.

However, the first few words have become meaningful to me, but that's about it.  So, I've decided to keep the tune and inject my own lyrics.  See what you think:

Let it go!  Let it go!
Can't hold on to it anymore. 
Let it Go!  Let it go!
Turn it loose and see what God has in store.
I can't win, if I try to hold on.
Take it out of my hands.
You've got control of this anyway.

Okay, so maybe it won't be a Top 40 on the radio, but I think you get my point. 

My mom told me a while back that I just needed to let it go, and let God handle it.  Of course, she was right, but harder said than done.  I wanted to handle the problem.  I wanted to control the situation, so that God could be glorified.  Great motives, huh?

I finally came to the realization - or actually the Holy Spirit reminded me - that God doesn't need me to control a situation so He can be glorified.  He needs me to get out of the way, so He can glorify HIMSELF!

Duh. 

So, when you feel out of control...guess what?  Let it go.  Give it over to Him.  Tell God what the situation is - He knows it anyway.  Go ahead and tell Him what you would like to see happen in the situation, and then sit back and watch as He works out what He has planned.  Now, sometimes that plan involves what you want to see happen, and sometimes it doesn't.  Either way, if you and I are OUT of the way, allowing Him to work...He can get His glory, His way!   

Let it go, my friend.  Let it go - not in the Frozen-sense of the word...but in the Jesus-sense of the WORD. 

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.  I will be exalted among the earth (Ps. 46:10).

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? (Luke 12:25-26).

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done (Phil. 4:6).

Thank You, Jesus, that You have all things under Your control, even when I think life it cascading OUT of control.  Thank You that I don't have to deal with it on my own...that You never expected me to.  You merely ask me to trust that You have it all, right where You need it to be.  I praise You, Jesus and look forward to seeing what You will do.  I trust You.  I really do.   

Mother's Day - Not Just a Day to Remember Mothers

I awoke to smells of bacon, clanging sounds coming from the kitchen, and the scent of coffee wafting through the air.  Boy, Mother's Day sure is wonderful! 

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, anxiously awaiting the wonderful breakfast I knew had been prepared.  My nose led to me to the kitchen where I saw oranges, bananas, apples, and grapes sliced and arranged in a chef-like manner on a glass plate.  I saw the purple sunshades and straw hat that my little one had purchased for me, so that I didn't burn my noggin while out in my garden.  I saw the large Twizzler my other child had purchased for my intense sweet tooth and a beautiful little plaque, written out by my daughter in purple marker, thanking me for being her mom. 

What a day!  

I gobbled up breakfast, and as I headed back into my room to get ready for church, something on the dining room table caught my attention.  It was a myriad of pictures; pictures of my kids at various ages, all spread across one side of the table with a big "Happy Mother's Day!" written on a piece of purple tissue paper, slap dab in the center of the collage.  

As I stood there, admiring the beauty of the presentation, my thoughts went back in time.  I remembered the doctor telling me that I might consider "other options," because I might never have children.  I remembered the little ones that I had, but never held.  I remembered the heartbeats on the monitors and the hospital gowns and how awful I looked after delivery.  I remembered the pudgy hands and feet of my kids, and how huge the thighs were of one of them!  I remembered their first smiles...their great laughs...and then I thought about how big they are now - playing football and getting permits to drive.  

I remembered how much God had done in my life and in the lives of the little faces splattered across those pictures.  I remembered...

...And I was so thankful.  

I stood there, gazing intently over each picture and the one thought that pervaded my mind was, "You have been so good to me, Lord...so good."  

II Tim. 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful,

for He cannot disown Himself." 

 

Those pictures were a reminder of His faithfulness to me.  A collage of His proven care and provision in my life.  They weren't just about His decision to give me children and provide the things that I needed for them, but reminders of the times that He was so very faithful, when I was so faithless.  

 

Maybe you don't have pictures of kids to strew across your dining room table.  Maybe you desired nothing more than to hold a little one in  your own arms, and dread fills your Mother's Days or even Father's Days, for that matter.  Can I encourage you to do something? 

 

Find other pictures. 

 

God's faithfulness spans across our entire lives, weaving in and out of our joys and sorrows...our wants fulfilled and desires never met.  The Truth is, He has been faithful to you, my friend.  Even if it looks just the opposite. Even if everything in your life right now is a bundle of turmoil.  He has been faithful and is being faithful at this very moment...He really is - for even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 

 

You know, I think rather than picking up the pictures and putting them away, I might leave them scattered on the table for a little while longer.  Maybe that will help ME remember His continued faithfulness to me, when I can see it clearly...and even when I can't. 

Thanks God...for the gentle reminder that You have been good and faithful, even when I have been not-so-good and faithless.  Thank You that the way I feel has very little to do with Who You are...that You never change and that You have said You will never leave me or forsake me.  Thank You for being My God.  I love You.