No thanks, I GOT this

I love my kids. They each are so unique and funny and exhausting. ALL at the same time. Recently, Isaiah has entered a new phase. I call it the "I GOT this" phase. He basically wants to do things by himself. It doesn't matter to him if it's not exactly the same way mom or dad would do it, it's more important to him that he does it by himself.

WELL this last weekend, Bec and I were having the fun "what are we having for dinner" conversation. We kept batting things back and forth. We even joked with Isaiah that we might make something he didn't like. WELL- he decided- I don't need you guys. I'll make my own meal. SO he did. Here are his results:

PB & J, Yogurt, Jello, Milk, and Water...he didn't do too bad for himself! 

Isaiah's self-made dinner went well. He DID it by himself! As a parent, we are excited for little things like this when kids start doing things for themselves. HOWEVER, just 3 days later Isaiah was presented with another challenge....and again he tried to do it all by himself.

Isaiah was playing hockey in our hallway and he knocked down our HUGE creative memories wall planner. The thing is packed with calendars, bills, pens, and all kinds of other random stuff. It hangs on the wall with two nails that are at about 6 feet high. So here is Isaiah trying to get the planner back on the wall by himself...

Just a little too short there buddy....you MIGHT need some help

Now I want to use these two illustrations today to talk about our reliance on God. Like Isaiah making his dinner, we try to do a lot of things by ourselves. We can DO IT! We don't need any help! Here is the problem though- did you check the date on the yogurt? While Isaiah was eating we asked him this question. He couldn't read the date and was frustrated. He shrugged and said, "It tastes ok, so I am going to keep on eating." (And NO we aren't those parents, we KNEW the yogurt was ok but wanted him to show him he can't do everything on his own.) 

And this is what we do in life- oh well, I guess it's ok- let's keep moving on. We did it by ourselves and that's all that matters.

WHY are we so stubborn? We have a God who cares about every waking need that we have. Yet we only want to rely on God for the big things. We only want to rely on God when we look up and realize there is NO WAY we are going to put the planner back on the wall by ourselves.

And I feel this is a big challenge for believers. If Isaiah at the age of 6 is already boldly and intentionally doing things on his own, how much more are we set in our ways as we get older? How do we start changing this?  How do we rely upon God in the each and everyday tasks in front of us?  

The truth is that God is present in everything we do on a daily basis. So what we need to do is let decisions not be ME decisions but OUR decisions. The our is God and you. A saying I saw recently that I liked was: If God is your co-pilot, you should switch seats.

A good analogy for this might be the way you look at a decision once you are married. Things come up on a daily basis where a decision needs to be made. Instead of making the decision on my own, and pushing forward, I will talk things over with my wife first.

What if we started doing the same thing ourselves with God? Start looping God into a little more each day of what we do. Now instead of forging ahead by ourselves, we begin to realize the closeness of God. God is THAT close. God is there.

Sometimes, a song tells it best. This song came out a few years ago, but I think it's a great reflection on a desired relationship I seek with God:
Me And God Song

So whether making a sandwich, a big decision, or putting back up a planner on the wall- don't forget to talk to God about it :)