Oh bubble wrap. The magical packing material that has been causing squabbles among siblings for decades.
Or was that just my sister and I who fought over who got to pop those addictingly-fun little bubbles? Either way, ya just gotta love the multi-purposeful qualities of bubble wrap.
Via CMMahon @ Flickr
As I was pondering this idea (again, at 3am… sorry, apparently 3am is prime time for random thoughts to enter my mind– blame it on the new-mama sleep deprivation) I, as usual, started thinking about how bubble wrap can relate to our faith.
Random. I know. Sorry. It’s how I roll.
Anywho, I considered the topic at hand… when I was thinking about it, I was struck by the idea of motherhood and how the first few weeks of baby girl’s existence I was (ok, still am) so twitchy and overprotective… And I really thought at one point the possibility of how to “bubble wrap” her from this world to keep her safe.
Then I heard God’s voice: “Beloved daughter… that’s not your job. You are called to love her and care for her– but in this world, you will all have trouble. I am her protector. Trust me.”
Gulp. Ok. Heard you, Father.
Then, my random thoughts took me to the scene from Finding Nemo where Marlin the clownfish (Nemo’s dad) and Dory are in the mouth of the whale. Marlin starts to yell at Dory and the following scene ensues:
Marlin: “I promised I’d never let anything happen to him!!”
Dory: “Hmm. That’s a funny thing to promise.”
Marlin: “What?”
Dory: “Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.”
Dory, although she can’t remember Nemo’s correct name to save her tail, makes a pretty good point. And it holds true not only to “real life” parenthood but also our walk of faith.
Sure, we all wish nothing <specifically: bad or challenging> would ever happen. But if that were true– where would we stand with God? I don’t know about you, but I am typically closest to God when things are the toughest.
Ultimately, Jesus is our bubble wrap. He protects us. He guards us. And He makes sure we get to our final destination (ahem, heaven) in one piece.
But in order to really live a bubble wrap faith life, we have to let go of our need to be the bubble wrap in both our lives and the lives of those around us. We can’t protect those around us from all harm. We can’t control others to make perfect decisions. (Heck, our decisions aren’t perfect either– even if we think we know best.)
We have to let go and let Jesus do the guarding and protecting. We have to trust Him that He knows what He is doing (He does) and loves us beyond all comprehension.
In what areas of your life do you try to be the bubble wrap? How would letting go of that desire to be the bubble wrap free our spirits?
Be encouraged, friends. Letting go and letting Jesus be our bubble wrap isn’t an overnight process. (Believe you me, I am still working on it!) When we transition from control to trust, we can rest assured that He will not only carry us to our final destination– but we will be more protected and secure than ever before.
That’s what I call a special delivery handled with care.
Wrapped up in Christ,
SGK
“He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.” ~Joshua 24:17
