God Glue

 

A dear Christian friend told me recently that I was living in fear because I was practicing social distancing and wearing a mask. I responded that I'm not afraid, instead I have compassion on the medical systems and their employees. I want to be sure not to add to the burden they are carrying through this pandemic. I also remain careful because we live among the Jicarilla Apache people, and the Indigenous people of our continent have suffered immense losses due to diseases in the past and present. I will not be responsible for the spread of this disease here on the reservation!

After our conversation, I was musing about how I felt about catching the coronavirus... and about dying. I realized I have very little fear of dying, but I do have concerns about my family. My exact thought was, "I'm the glue that holds this family together." As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I corrected myself. I should not be the glue that holds this family together. God should be.

I'm important in our family, for sure. I'm the one teaching the kids. I'm the one that cooks and cleans (by choice, not by default or pressure!). Brad is important in our family, too. He's the one that makes actual money. He's the one that leads our worship and devotions. But neither of us are what holds our family together.

God holds our family. He holds our family together. He leads us in every part of our lives. God Glue is the important factor. 

And I started thinking of ways that we live out what I believe: God's got this. HE is in charge and HE has a wonderful plan for all of our lives. No matter what happens, God will be with each one of us. We are never alone. Never without resources. Never without hope. 

So what do I do with this important fact that I want my children to live by?

1) Tell them! Our kids sometimes ask us what would happen to them if we both died. We always tell them that God has a plan for them. We say that we don't know what the plan is, but God does! He will provide for them in every circumstance. Eternally! (We also have some concrete things in place that the kids know about.)

2) Live this knowledge! We live like God has a plan for us! People ask when we're going to retire, and we say, "God is in charge. When He gives us the signal that we should retire, we will. When the kids ask where we're going to live after Papa retires, we say, "The blue house in Pagosa (which we own at this point), if that's what God wants." We adults have to show our own trust in God's plans so our children see our faith.

3) Talk about God's part in your family. When someone is mean, we ask if that is how God wants us to behave. When someone destroys somebody's something, we talk about how God wants us to treat each other. When we watch a movie, we talk about how the characters are/aren't listening for God's Will. In our read-aloud books, we discuss how the characters are walking in God's way (or are not). 

So I repeat: I am not living in fear. And I am not the glue of our family. Our family would go on fine without me... because God is our glue. And that never ends. Never dies. Never fades away. 

Amen.