A recent trip to the beach turned my almost 6 year old son into a little 40 year old man who no longer needed his mama.
Last week we took a family vacation to the beach, and like the past few years, my husband took our son to play 18 holes of golf. This year, however, I was chopped liver. Uncharacteristically, every little thing I did to try to help was denied, and each time I tried anyway, the more agitated he would get.
“Mom, I can do it!” He had tightened his belt so tight I had to remind him that corsets went out of style about 100 years ago. When I went to get a metal water bottle that’s designed to insulate and keep it cold, he grabbed a plastic water bottle out of the fridge and looked at me like I had no understanding of how the world worked.
This is big boy stuff right here, and I’m killing the vibe. Isn’t that how we interact with the Lord sometimes? Thanks Lord, but I can handle it.
As a parent, we all know of the delicate balance between allowing our kids increased independence while trying our best to tame our inner mama bear to make sure they have everything they need. My husband thought it was hilarious, so he kept signaling with hands to let the boy become a man (ugh!).
But I could see the future, especially the Carolina beach heat, and knew that his plastic water bottle would heat up throughout their time on the course. I also knew that the tightness of his belt would begin irritating the boo boo he got on his hip from his skim board in the ocean yesterday. But he just wasn’t interested in my opinions, so I had to take a step back.
The scripture that came to mind during all of this was Proverbs 16:25. It says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
There’s a reason God included statements like this in His word. God is infinite and perfect and Holy. He knows the name of each of the septillion stars He created and He wants us to be aware that our little finite minds cannot comprehend or understand what He can.
There’s a reason He wants us to use the insulated water bottle even though we want to use the one that makes us look better. He can see the future, we can’t.
That’s how it is with His word. What He says in The Bible is the guidance He provides for us to remain aligned with His ways and His character. When we stray from that, we face consequences, because our ways are flawed and His are perfect. That's why it's important that we stay in it!
The grace and mercy in this story is that my husband packed a cooler with ice packs so our son would inevitably have cold water when the sweat takes over in an hour or so. My husband loves our son that much and wants to provide anyway, having compassion on his burning desire to choose the bottle that makes him look bigger and better, despite what he truly needed.
Isn’t it crazy that God has that grace on us as well? Ephesians 2:4-5 says “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Even when we go our own way despite what He says, even when we are spiritually dead in our active sin, He made us alive in Christ. Our sin did not disqualify us from His love. That’s the opposite of human relationships, but it’s a truth we should meditate on so when we’re tempted to go our own way, we pick His even if it doesn’t make sense to our little brains.