It's morning in our little house. My husband gets ready for work and grabs the lunch I prepared for him out of the fridge. Our kids mill about, getting breakfast, talking and playing with each other. Upstairs I spy the four littlest cuddled up on one of the boys' beds. Just cuddling. Just being together. I gather up the laundry and make beds and nurse babies and sip coffee. I've written a lot (probably too much) about our little house and my struggle to make peace with it, but this morning it feels like it fits us just right. We nestle in and make it home and yeah, it can be a mess and a headache, but it can also be clean and warm and bright.
Yesterday was the Primary here in Michigan. My husband and I slipped out after dinner with the toddler to get our votes in. Politics have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, something my family has always felt important to take part in. We waited in a long line, we cast our votes but for the first time I can remember, I had no enthusiasm for it.
Truth is, when I look to the news about the choices our country is facing, I feel like I don't belong here. Like living in a house that doesn't seem to fit us or meet our needs, I get frustrated. Discontent. I remind God that I had something else in mind, and list all the reasons why my idea makes so much more sense than His.
It seems a lot of my friends are in the same boat. Post after post on facebook expresses outrage, fear, disbelief. We wonder why God gives us these lives, these convictions, and then places us in a world that fails to support them. How on earth are we supposed to raise kids according to the morals and ethics we believe in during times like this when everything on the outside seems in direct conflict? I go to bed frustrated after watching the newscast. Lie awake in the dark listening to my baby breathe in deep sleep and wonder about the future.
The next morning dawns and brings fresh perspective with her. The truth is, this life is not about finding comfort. It has never been about the easy way. It has always been the choice to be in the world but not of the world. It's how we are sanctified - through struggle and sacrifice and seeking God first even when everything else is whirling chaos. Like a tight little house overflowing with kids, God meets us in the mayhem of our circumstances and offers us His presence. All we have to do is trust that He's got this. And He does.
Our task is always to glow brightly with the promise of God's love. Through every storm. Every dark night. Christ is the beacon of hope and we point His way with lives that tell of His goodness. No matter what everyone else is doing.
That's how you find contentment and peace within all circumstances, large and small. From a little home that you thought you'd have left behind years ago to a country that never seems to get it right, there is still hope here. No matter what it looks like on the outside, He never left.
It's the morning after the primary and I'm thankful for this country of ours. I can trust that our presence here matters and means something, even if we are the minority. It's where we have been planted and I know it's for good. Just keep on Abiding.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! For I have overcome the world.
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