The Pacifier

One unexpected perk of parenthood is that God often uses it to catch my attention.

On Sunday afternoon, on our way out to celebrate Easter dinner with family, Ford began crying hysterically in the backseat. This is not, by any means, an unusual situation; in fact, it is quite the norm for him. Defeated by the screaming, I decided to sit in the backseat with him and try to soothe him (yes, I am one of THOSE parents). I immediately picked up the pacifier, a tried and true method of calming him, and put it into his mouth. He instantly calmed, but after a few seconds, he grabbed the pacifier out of his mouth and began screaming again. He had such a tight grip on the pacifier, that it took both of my hands to gently pry it out of his (very strong) right hand. I finally got ahold of the pacifier, returned it to its home in his mouth, and he was...well, pacified. However, a few seconds later, we repeated the cycle...and so on...and so forth...until we reached our destination (a mere 15 minutes later).

Aren't we kind of like babies in our own lives? God is sitting in the car beside us, throughout our journeys, waiting for us to relinquish control over our wants/needs so He can use us for His glory. We spend our lives in hysterics, while hanging on ever-so tightly to our jobs, our families, our finances, our dreams; and all the while God is saying, "Let go. Let me show you what to do with this. Let me guide you to peace."

I am a bigger handful for God than Ford is for me, anyday! I am so thankful to have a loving Father who gently teaches me lessons because He loves me.