“Everything else. That’s what we figured mom did in our house. You set the table, good, mom did everything else. Mowed the lawn? Fantastic, mom did everything else. That should be on the mother’s resume-ability to do everything else.”
A friend of mine shared this little ditty with me recently. I’m not sure who is the source of this tongue in cheek, but truer than true piece of literature, but I treasured it and knew I’d come back to it in my reflections on God. Behind the scene fixer uppers; mothers and God are on it like nobody’s business.
I had no idea preparing a holiday meal was an all consuming, hours investing, back breaking, clean streaking affair. When I was 8, my role consisted of ceasing play when, “it’s dinner!” was bellowed from the top of the stairs. Aside from the long walk from the basement to the main floor in our bungalow, trying to not burst out in laughter when a family member shared a somber grace before the meal, was the most effortful thing I had to accomplish before I buried my face in a heap of mashed potatoes.
As a young adolescent, my role at a holiday gathering changed and shifted; I moved up to dish duty. Clearing and assisting with washing. Not out of obligation, but out of a realization that something grand had happened and no one, but the woman in the apron sitting across from me with exhaustion set in her eyes, had made this whole thing happen. So, I cleared the plates, and, set my sights on the disaster area that was our kitchen. Twenty people can create a lot of mess. I was beginning to understand the magnitude of the work involved in creating lasting traditions. We helped with the cleaning. And mom did everything else.
As a young woman, new in my faith, I didn’t yet grasp the concept of God in everything else. I took a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, at least inwardly, of how I had to be, and what I had to accomplish. Knowing God for me, somehow got confused with the misconception that I had to be perfect. At all times. At all costs. I had to be nice. The whole thing was exhausting, and like a volcano ready to erupt, there was something inside of me that needed a release. I placed God in a box, in charge of small matters in my life, and the message I gave myself was Christy did everything else. It was years before I grew to learn, I had the whole equation backwards.
Jesus claimed to be the living God. God with skin and bones and clothes on. He was nicknamed the king of the Jews. It was nailed above his head, like a homemade yard sale sign at his execution. Despite his inherent royalty, he came and lived like a servant among men. He washed his friend’s feet. He hung out with unsavory characters. He disliked religious folk. He was real, unpretentious, down to earth. He used shocking statements about the whole system being backwards. The least being the greatest. The greatest being the least. On top of being savior, king, and friend, he was servant. The only thing he requested was unwavering trust from his friends. And guess what? He promised to take care of everything else. And the beauty is, he still does. We forget this. But it’s his promise.
Where is God in your everything else? Have you allotted him a small fraction of your life to take care of? Like a stack of poker chips, have you handed him 2 piles to manage, while hoarding over 5 for yourself? Are you afraid he can’t handle all of it? Are you bending over backwards trying to take care of the everything else yourself? Like me, were you trying to be your own savior?
We are called to be responsible for our lives and not sit passively by expecting others to take care of our affairs. But, the intimate, personal God we have access to in a minute by minute, day to day basis, wants to work with us and through us in each and every area of our lives. Will you trust him with your everything else?
~And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
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