A few years ago, we spent a week at Disney World in the Wilderness Lodge. The day we left to come home, we bought the coolest set of Lincoln Logs for Will (he was 2 years old at the time). This set was comprised of enough interlocking pieces to build a model of the Wilderness Lodge, and it even came with the entrance arch and the Disney character totem pole. I thought it was really cool, and couldn't wait to get time to build it with him.
A few weeks later, he and I unpacked the set and started building the Lodge. I followed the instructions to the 'nth degree and an hour later, had constructed an exact replica of the Wilderness Lodge. I was very proud of my accomplishment, so I went to get Marci to show her. While I was in the other room, I heard a loud crash, followed by several other strange, wood-on-wood tones. I hurried back to where the noise came from, and of course, the Lodge I built was now in pieces. And as you can imagine, I was a bit upset that the masterpiece I had so painstakingly crafted, now lay in pieces on the living room floor. But it was not only in pieces, there was a two year old boy wading through the bits of wood, kicking them as he went.
I tried to build a few other things with him right after this incident, but he wasn't too interested. He wouldn't help me build and opted for playing with his other toys. That is until I had built something large enough to destroy and he would return and smash, crush, and stomp. By now, it was crystal clear that Will wasn't ready for Lincoln Logs, so I packed them back into their tin, and stored them away.
While cleaning out a closet a few weeks ago, I found the tin and decided to reintroduced the logs to our older, "more mature" son (now he's four going on five). This time, he fell in love with them and we've spent a lot of time as of late, building towers, forts, planes, and even dinosaurs out of Lincoln Logs. But, I still see a little bit of the wild side (that I love) in him when we finish playing with what we've built, and it's time to start over. Of course, before you can start building again, you gotta' tear down the old one. And believe me, Will still has his uncanny talent for tearing down in a couple of seconds, what took us hours to build. But, since it's not the Wilderness Lodge, I actually enjoy watching him tear it down.
I've always heard that things have to get to there lowest point before they can get any better. But just where is the "lowest point"? In the case of the Lincoln Logs, its when there is no structure, just pieces. But what about in the real world? Obviously, the lowest point is when you feel all hope is lost, you think there is nowhere else to turn, your back's up against the wall, and you have hit the proverbial "Rock Bottom". But, the good thing about hitting bottom is that it makes you realize that there is nowhere to go but up! I bet you are ready to charge out of the tunnel and kick your problem in the butt after that motivational speech aren't you! Not if you're human...
Here's the deal spelled out as simply as I can. When "the wheels come off" in our lives and it seems like everything is torn apart (like the Lincoln Logs), there really is hope. No matter what sort of shambles things are in, be it in your family, finances, or even your church, God designed you to be an over comer. You were crafted by the Master and are comprised of a multitude of parts and pieces that are unique to you, and fit together to in a certain way that maximizes your talents and gifts. The problem is, many times some of our pieces aren't put together the way they need to be and our lincoln-log-existence may be leaning, or even worse, fall down and crash into pieces. But, Jesus is there to put us back together and make us whole, and even better, to make us NEW. It is only that we ask Him, turn it over to Him, cast our cares upon Him, and humble ourselves enough to realize that we just can't do it on our own.
So, if you are finding yourself at the rock bottom side of something today, look up! He is above, waiting for us to ask for help and calling us to turn to Him. His shoulders are big enough to carry any burden we have, even while He's doing a a NEW thing in our lives through His divine restoration.
A few weeks later, he and I unpacked the set and started building the Lodge. I followed the instructions to the 'nth degree and an hour later, had constructed an exact replica of the Wilderness Lodge. I was very proud of my accomplishment, so I went to get Marci to show her. While I was in the other room, I heard a loud crash, followed by several other strange, wood-on-wood tones. I hurried back to where the noise came from, and of course, the Lodge I built was now in pieces. And as you can imagine, I was a bit upset that the masterpiece I had so painstakingly crafted, now lay in pieces on the living room floor. But it was not only in pieces, there was a two year old boy wading through the bits of wood, kicking them as he went.
I tried to build a few other things with him right after this incident, but he wasn't too interested. He wouldn't help me build and opted for playing with his other toys. That is until I had built something large enough to destroy and he would return and smash, crush, and stomp. By now, it was crystal clear that Will wasn't ready for Lincoln Logs, so I packed them back into their tin, and stored them away.
While cleaning out a closet a few weeks ago, I found the tin and decided to reintroduced the logs to our older, "more mature" son (now he's four going on five). This time, he fell in love with them and we've spent a lot of time as of late, building towers, forts, planes, and even dinosaurs out of Lincoln Logs. But, I still see a little bit of the wild side (that I love) in him when we finish playing with what we've built, and it's time to start over. Of course, before you can start building again, you gotta' tear down the old one. And believe me, Will still has his uncanny talent for tearing down in a couple of seconds, what took us hours to build. But, since it's not the Wilderness Lodge, I actually enjoy watching him tear it down.
I've always heard that things have to get to there lowest point before they can get any better. But just where is the "lowest point"? In the case of the Lincoln Logs, its when there is no structure, just pieces. But what about in the real world? Obviously, the lowest point is when you feel all hope is lost, you think there is nowhere else to turn, your back's up against the wall, and you have hit the proverbial "Rock Bottom". But, the good thing about hitting bottom is that it makes you realize that there is nowhere to go but up! I bet you are ready to charge out of the tunnel and kick your problem in the butt after that motivational speech aren't you! Not if you're human...
Here's the deal spelled out as simply as I can. When "the wheels come off" in our lives and it seems like everything is torn apart (like the Lincoln Logs), there really is hope. No matter what sort of shambles things are in, be it in your family, finances, or even your church, God designed you to be an over comer. You were crafted by the Master and are comprised of a multitude of parts and pieces that are unique to you, and fit together to in a certain way that maximizes your talents and gifts. The problem is, many times some of our pieces aren't put together the way they need to be and our lincoln-log-existence may be leaning, or even worse, fall down and crash into pieces. But, Jesus is there to put us back together and make us whole, and even better, to make us NEW. It is only that we ask Him, turn it over to Him, cast our cares upon Him, and humble ourselves enough to realize that we just can't do it on our own.
So, if you are finding yourself at the rock bottom side of something today, look up! He is above, waiting for us to ask for help and calling us to turn to Him. His shoulders are big enough to carry any burden we have, even while He's doing a a NEW thing in our lives through His divine restoration.
Then the One seated on the throne said, "Look! I am making everything new." Revelation 21:5
0 COMMENTS...:
Post a Comment