A few months ago, I took all three children (3, 2, and 3 months) to the doctors office. I did not want to go. I envisioned mass chaos, blood, sweat, and tears. But, my baby was sick and he needed to be seen. So I loaded us up in a cheerful show, had my convenient (cute) crossbody loaded down with all the necessary ammunition: snacks and wipes. The visit went well, the wait was easy, my children were awesome. No blood was shed and only a few tears. I strolled out of that office feeling like super woman (for about two minutes). We did it! We survived! What was I so afraid of? That it would be hard? Yes, it was hard! Will it be something I remember being hard in a year or even a month? No way. But it was necessary and life isn’t all about the easy.
When we have children, we envision the fun stuff: vacations, christmas mornings, trips to the park, and snuggly movie nights. We avoid thinking about the sick days, the tantrums, and the disobedience. Do those things mean we love them less? Every parent knows that answer. I think it’s our natural tendency to idealize most things in life until we get smacked in the face with reality.
You know what one of the many cool things about God is? He knows us, not just what we present to the world. But He really KNOWS us. He knows every ugly blemish, every foul thought, every sin we’ve ever even thought about committing. And yet...He still CHOOSES us. He loves us despite these things. Unlike parents conveniently forgetting the tough side of raising children, He has always been fully aware and He wants to save us. He doesn’t have some fantasy idea of what our life will be like once we become His child. He understands we will mess up, disappoint, and yes, even hurt Him. But there He is, still standing with arms wide open- waiting for us to come home.
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