My favorite time of the year is Camp Nana time. It's a crazy, quirky, funny, messy, imperfect time of pleasure. Admittedly, I don't like clutter. I like for everything to have a place and be in it. And it only takes about 2 days of Camp Nana's for pillows to become forts, for bar tops to become Barbie runways, for ottomans to become movie seats, and for coffee tables to become staging areas for the next big adventure. And right now, I look around and see evidence that when you are 4 and 7, perfectly straight is not at the top of your list of priorities... In fact, it's not in the list at all.... and I wonder if my house will ever be straight again.
I smile when I think of June Cleaver (dating myself here)... Somewhere along the way, we moved from just keeping a tidy house, wearing an apron, cooking square meals, and giving hugs. Moms these days (proud of you, Amber) try to be the Martha Stewart of motherhood.... make sure the kids are physically healthy, emotionally fulfilled, their lunchboxes and dinner plates are full of the best nutrition, their weekends and weekday evenings are busy with enriching experiences.... all while holding down a full-time career. And it's messy. And it's not perfect. But there's purpose.
You see... purpose isn't perfection. I know that the idea of God using imperfect people isn't anything new. We've all heard the sermons. There's a part of me that wants to be perfect... but I'm just as messy as everyone else. Thank goodness God doesn't wait around for perfection nor even expect it. The bible has story after story of how God used imperfect, messy people: Jacob was a lier, Moses couldn't speak, David was a murderer, Rahab was a prostitute... But they were all remembered in Hebrews 11 for their faithfulness. They were called, they obeyed, they conquered, they gained strength after weakeness, but the bible NEVER says they did it perfectly. And right now, in this chapter, God is using me as a Nana... to love and be loved... and it makes my heart melt.... and I thank Him every day for using me in my messy-ness and giving me another chance to get it right.
And I know we are never perfect on earth, no matter how hard we try. God never says that every circumstance will be perfect or even good. What He promises us is that He is faithful and that when we put our trust in Him, all things will work out for the good... not because of anything we can do, but because of who He is.
The girls are having a sleepover at Memaw's house tonight and they were very excited. They took a plethura of "stuff" with them so they could mess up her house a little too. And as I look around, I blink because I know that in just 4 days, they will head back to Houston and all this mess will be another Camp Nana memory... and maybe in a week or two, after the tissue runs out, I'll clean it all up and wipe the fingerprints off the stainless and the nose prints off the windows. Maybe. And I'll know that THIS purpose WAS as perfect as I could make it. And God will look at me and not even see the messy-ness, but will see the space in my heart where He can shine through this old Nana.
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