Back to Basics

I laugh all the time about all the things I used to think before I had kids. I was SUCH A GOOD MOTHER back then . ha! I knew SO MUCH about parenting. Can any of you identify? Being a mother has taught me a LOT about not judging others. :-) - Kelly's Korner

Parenthood is so humbling. I read books on sleep training before I even got pregnant, and I just knew my child was going be to one of those "by the book" babies. I can just hear God laughing now...oh, what fun my little boy is, though! I cannot wait for his first spring and summer. Whereas now I look forward to his naps so that I can catch up on stuff, pretty soon I'm going to be waking him early so that we can go outside and play. We outfitted him with lots of summer duds this weekend...life jacket, baby pool and baby float. He is ready!

This post isn't about Micah, though. (I have a hard time not talking about him.) Have you ever been to church and when the pastor starts to share the crucifixion story, you think "heard this before, got it, ready for the next thing" and zone out? That was me. I had the story straight, but occasionally I would hear things like "carrying your cross" or "leaving your burdens at the foot of the cross," and it sounded nice but I didn't know, practically speaking, what that looked like. I got a new understand of that recently, and it reminded me (and humbled me) that even I have to sometimes go back to the basics of my faith.

What I realized is probably very simple and obvious to some of you. It goes like this: When I became a Christian, I didn't stop sinning, I just gained access to a new power (or strength...or weapon) to fight it. So "leaving my burdens at the foot of the cross" simply means that I say, "God, I can't beat this (insert sin here) on my own. I need your help or else I'm going to fall." And God promises to help us. In fact, the Bible says that we have the same power within us that resurrected Jesus!

It's more than that, though. It's not like we just call on the cross when we need it and otherwise we're left alone to live our lives as we wish. If I call on Christ's power, then I'm also calling on him to come into my (very worldly) life and start chipping away at all that is holding me back from bringing attention to His name. And that gets uncomfortable. Just ask MckMama...she's over in Kenya right now blogging on behalf of Compassion International. Her posts during this trip will rock your world.