The God of Restoration

Jacob had an accident with the Suburban the other day. By grace, no one was hurt but the vehicle was pretty banged up. And since my tendency is to overreact, that's what I did. I thought Jacob (whom in my mind right then had become 'that kid') needed to learn from this by having the consequences land squarely on him. While there was a tiny ounce of good in my reasoning, my motivation was not by any stretch a desire to lovingly teach. If I had to be honest, I wanted him to feel as frustrated as I felt about it.

Thankfully, in stepped my wise friend, Rena, a beautiful, faithfilled mother of seven whose expecting their eigth. She called and asked how I was doing (be careful asking that, the longer Bill's gone, the more apt I am to tell you and not care how long it takes...). I told her all about the accident and how I felt about it, but more importantly, telling her that I needed wisdom. She listened and then gently pointed out that it was an accident....something that could have happened to anyone and that it wasn't a result of recklessness, just life.

It made me think about how I'm called to be Christ to Jacob. And to be Christ to Jacob in this situation I have to remember that things are fleeting-even broken things, they come to an end. But with Jesus there is no end. His redemptive ways are endless and eternal.

So the question I rest with is this: In what particular way can I cooperate with the God of Restoration today? How can I work with Jesus to help restore and redeem the things that are broken in my midst...especially the things I've broken myself.

A saint is not someone who never falls. A saint is someone who never tires of getting back up. People who know me have heard me say this many times, but it's a truth I love remembering and sharing. It's the definition of our universal call to holiness.

May we never tire of starting over or shrink from the demands of love.