Stroller

We have two little umbrella strollers because there are two grand babies about the same size, and when we are all together they too need wheels when accompanying their cousins on bike. One stroller was parked in the regular garage spot, but the other was parked in an unfamiliar place on the front right of my car, and when I was driving out of the garage I caught the corner of the stroller, drug it for a second, and heard a crack. My son Tom was with me and he got out, investigated it, laid it aside and with a hopeful sigh, and a couple of words of encouragement, knew this would be a project to contemplate for another day. I had bent the pin and broken one of the dual plastic wheels on the front side.

I got my tools and took apart the double wheeled portion of the crippled stroller a couple of days ago, with the intent to go to Home Depot and replace the pin and get some super glue for the cracked plastic wheel. I try to keep these type of situations semi under wraps, because when I expose them I am pretty much guaranteed some quite obvious advise, like you should be more careful, or you need to look around before backing out, or this could have been avoided if you weren't in such a hurry, etc. But when my husband said he was running to Home Depot for an errand, I quickly weighed my options; to confess or not confess. Oh, why not just put it out on the table and suck up the comments. It would save me the trip later. So I did.

The deal is: when I finally do come clean, he generally does have a solution to my dilemma, it is just my pride that gets in the way of my confession. He is right on all his accounts, but some of us are just a little less methodical than others. This time was no different. I showed him the pin, and he said he didn't think Home Depot would just have a "stroller" pin hanging around, it just needed to be straightened. I told him that I clearly tried to do just than but that it wouldn't budge. His explanation was that he would do it, and of course he did, and he also brought the right kind of epoxy on his errand and I am sure, before the next wave of my stroller sized grand babies come over, it will be fixed, and ready for a sidewalk jaunt.

I hate admitting that I messed up, pretty much on anything. That pride thing does get so in my way. And it is true so many of my blunders are avoidable. I do get in a hurry, I do sidetrack safety, and I really don't like taking the time to plan everything out, because quite fankly I like to be surprised, and really so many times I am happily content with an outcome. But as I was thinking about this one little incident, and I admit I do not like to expose myself or be exposed for doing something dumb, or haphazard, or irresponsible. I hate those regrets but not enough to make any serious adjustments to my style of living.

But when I consider the things that I do in God's economy that do not line up with his standards or his ways, I am constantly in need of repair. For I have allowed my will to run over his. The pin that connects my mindset with his ways gets bent and my wheel of wisdom and God centered focus gets cracked and prevents me from rolling into his desired pattern of grace. It is that pride deal, I don't want to admit my wrongdoing, or bad attitude or self centered motivation. That attitude of humility is the God centered attitude that too many times gets overridden by self centered ambitions and self generated thoughts.

But just as I finally made a choice to admit my mistake to my husband and
he comes to my rescue to repair my material goods which I have broken, so it is with God who comes to my rescue when my spirit is askew and I finally choose to fess up to Him that which I have messed up. I am not only in need of repair but also dependent upon prayer. God already knows where I have messed up, it is me who needs to admit my shortcomings to myself and also to God and allow him the tools to make straight my pin of connection and help me stroll gracefully on down his road. It is the whole pride versus humility deal that seems to banner for the right to take precedence in my life.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

The Spirit of the Lord hovers and lingers over us and is within the reaches of each of us. God has sent His Spirit to be our guide, our restorer, our conscience, and our play by play director of life. It is when we allow His Spirit to guide our Spirit that we remain in the harmony of His contentment. Oh but when we try to side step our transparency to God and make futile attempts to hide our mistakes, or rationalize them, we forfeit God's blessings that come from being truthful and forthright. Freedom and peace are generated from a humble acceptance from us that; God knows we are going to mess us but he forgives us each and every sin and helps us, if we are willing, to move forward into his righteousness.

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

No use trying to hide anything from God, he sees all that we do, hears all that we say, and knows all that we think. The hiding thing just complicates "our" story not his. It interferes with truth, sidetracks productive living, and keeps God at bay instead of allowing him to help us navigate our hurdles. God doesn't get mad at our misgivings, he doesn't keep records of our wrongs, his grace is not compromised by what we deserve or do not deserve, and his love is not conditional. He is our mighty warrior who stands with us and fights in the battles of our woes. If we give to him all of our failures, our broken dreams, our griefs, our sorrows, our tattered souls, our hungry spirits, our parched thirst for his goodness...it is then that we will find his fresh sense of peace, joy and forgiveness. For it is when we let go of the mishaps that are causing us to stroll crookedly, and half cracked along the path that is before us, that we will experience the overriding victory of God's hand in and on our life.

Psalm 51:17
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Dear Lord, Help me to lose hold of this pride deal, and humbly submit to your way. Help me to fearlessly lay the things out on your table that I am stumbling with and allow you the position in my life to repair and refresh my very ways according to your purposes. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!