Broken Necklaces

Avery crawled up into her Daddy's lap, heartbroken and in tears. Her necklace, which I scored as part of a grab back of jewelry, had come apart and needed mending. He silently addressed the situation, figured out what had happened, and decided he needed to get wire to fix it completely. During his examination, Avery was full of questions:

"What's wrong, Daddy?"
"Aren't you going to fix it?"
"I think it's just twisted."
"Here, let me try."

This final sentence caused me to intervene. "Avery, you gave your necklace to Daddy because you said it was broken. If you want him to fix it, leave him alone so he can see what he needs to do. Don't you trust him?"

At that moment, the room seemed to stand still and the Holy Spirit spoke directly to my heart.

"Kristen, she's just like you."

He was exactly right. I "give stuff over" to God, but then I gradually take it back piece by piece. In my attempt to control situations, bring about resolutions before the timing is right, and please everyone in the process, I wind up taking everything back. I have this idea that I know more details than God, that I understand the situation better, and I know how to fix it. The worse part is this: it's still completely broken, but now it's worse than it was before. What started as a small issue has become a tangled mess as a result of my fingers trying to fix it according to my own agenda and my own timing.

Thank you, four-year-old daughter, for exposing one of my many faults. Thank You, Lord, for being in control and working even when we can't see or understand it. Help me to trust You.

 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Matthew 6:26