Limitations of the Yarn Wad!

I was stressing over a birthday party. The day was here and my check-list needed checking off! Balloons blown, streamers strung, cake unveiled, plates, cups and napkins unwrapped. Thankfully my mom was here to help! Something I needed required a little bit of string. I envision one in my head I'd seen recently and remembered seeing it last passing from my hand to Caleb's. Oh no! So, I call him over and describe the piece of string I'm after and asked him to find it for dear ole Mom. A few minutes later - it had been awhile and I'm distracted with other decorations - he come in huffing and puffing, "Here Mom, I found it. You're... just gonna have to deal with it," A ball of wadded up tangled mess of different colored string falls in my lap. And if you've ever given string to a 3 year old boy before, you know what I'm talking about! "You're.... just gonna have to deal with it," was a phrase I'd used on him recently, trying to help him deal with situations not exactly going the way he carefully planned. He found a fitting situation to remind me - here it is, not how you want it, but you can deal with it too, Mom. :)

As I've studied the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon's words apply to my heart in this and other situations. I love to plan birthday parties or a craft project, line up a great field trip with favorite friends after studying a specific theme - but just because I put time and effort into planning, doesn't mean it will turn out flawless. So much of life is dealing with what's thrown at me. Sometimes literally! Like when my son's sick and I'd planned to run errands that day - well I guess now, we re-arrange and take it easy today so he can rest and run errands another time. Him getting well and my sanity is more important than those errand that day. Or, what about when life hits us with a sudden move, or job loss, a husband who walks out the door claiming never to return. How do we re-calculate when life throws a ball full of waded up string and you can't even tell where the end is to even start?

Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 says, "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted."

Why do I chase after the wind, seeking satisfaction in areas that when caught, hold only air? I can't straighten what's crooked in my life, but I can do what God's given for me to do and take care of today - leaving tomorrow to worry about itself. That's all I can do...and it's a choice we can all make.

I don't think I ever straightened out that ball of string Caleb gave me, and it turns out I survived without it! Even had a great a great party despite not having that string. I love how my kids teach me great truths!

Lord, teach us to depend on you, when life's easy and bountiful and when it's difficult and heartbreaking. You are still the same. Keep our eyes fixed on you that we would be fully satisfied and not easily swayed by chasing after the things this world flashes in front of us. In Jesus name.