hairy humility…

We both knew God wanted her to go.  It would be a big step for her personally, but also meant connecting the story of our family with a larger story of God’s love for His children.  Planting seeds for family involvement in something larger than our household that will continue as our children grow.

We were in the midst of trying to sell our house, and our 3 daughters were all 4 and under.  But we knew it was important for my wife to travel with our church missions team to the Philippines last March.  One thing I’ve loved about my wife ever since we first met – was her heart for the quietly overlooked.  When my first response might be to stand on a soapbox and yell for a group call to action, her first response is to kneel down, and be the loving presence needed herself.  I continue to learn from her example. 🙂

Surprisingly, however, the thought of my wife leaving for a couple weeks didn’t thrill me a ton in some ways.  Thankfully, my parents could come down and help for a week.  I could survive, even though the distance and time difference and safety of my better half would keep me from sleeping much at all that week.  I felt as if I was on a “holy mission” of fatherhood and husbandry.  By keeping our kids healthy (or at least fed) and being ready to show the house to a prospective buyer in a moments notice – I was serving God.

So what was one of the big things that got to me?  The place where I felt the most inadequate and unable to provide what my little angels needed?  You probably already guessed it – their hair.  Beyond washing it, and combing it out – I still have no clue what I’m doing.  And my kids know too.  A month ago, I gave Barbie a lop-sided pony-tail, and my oldest daughter’s eye’s became wide with pride as she yelled, “Daddy, you did it!”, and then to the general audience of our home – “Daddy can do a pony tail!!!”

Nope.  I still can’t.  Heck, I feel like I’m torturing them enough just trying to remove the evil little rubber bands every once in a while to wash their hair.

Sure, I need my wife for amazingly huge things.  Things that are so obvious, we said them to each other in the vows we took.  But the simple, overlooked, quiet needs end up being pretty important sometimes too.

We need God for some pretty huge reasons.  Reasons so obvious, we teach them in Sunday School.  They’re praught (past tense of “preach”) about on a weekly basis.  Books are written on them.  But to each of us, there is something unique and humblingly small…that reveals just how intricately we’ve been wired/created to exist with our creator.  A need we have that is beautifully our own.  And He is more than able to meet that need even now, if we’ll slow down…and draw near…

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”