If You’ve Ever Needed Glue

Yesterday, during Beth Moore’s Breaking Free Bible study video,

she talked about fiery trials we face in life and how God can use them to burn away things inside of us that are impure or ugly.

She then shared a little about her husband Keith’s childhood, and the pain his parents have endured as a result of losing two children.

One day, while talking with her husband about the tragedies, she said he asked,

“I wonder what I would be like today if none of that would have happened?”

Her reply sent chills through my entire body.

She told him,

“You are such a better person healed than you ever would have been well.”

I thought of my own life journey and even the journey of my kids and husband.

While everything about our lives is not perfect, by any means, I do believe we’re finally on a road toward healing.

Not forgetting.

Not moving on.

Not letting go.

But allowing God to be the glue that holds us together……………….

individually and as a family.

We never did have a photograph taken of me, Tim, and the boys with Adrienne in her six short weeks with us,

and I’ve regretted that for 23 years;

but it’s still so hard to look at a family photo without Nick in it.

I think that’s why I’m so passionate about capturing memories with my camera.

I cherish every photo……………so much.

Over Christmas break, all of our kids were home together for the first time in two years.

It was amazing to have the house so full of love.

Olivia had the idea of creating family t-shirts and having a game tournament over the weekend.

On New Year’s Eve, we got really wild and walked to Speedway late at night for snacks and drinks!

The weather was so unseasonably warm we were even able to get in eighteen holes of Frisbee golf one afternoon!

And bowling definitely made the list of games for our family competition!

Looking back on this week of family time, I would be lying if I said every minute was perfect.

When you bring that many personalities together for an extended period of time, there are moments when a little space is probably the best option in order to survive.

But I wouldn’t trade one minute of the week for a week without all of our kids here!

It was the good, the bad, the happy, and sad that made the week so memorable.

And life is no different, really.

It takes the good days, the bad days, the happy and the sad days, to create a memorable life.

I don’t think any of us would want to see ourselves today had we not faced some pretty big hurdles and managed to get over them.

I know I wouldn’t want to know a “well Tammy” today over a “broken-but-held-together” one.

Life is definitely hard.

And aren’t we all in need of a little glue?

I’ll never forget Louie Giglio’s sermon on laminin, the protein that holds our cells together.

Just look at it!

 

Do you see what Louie saw?

Our whole body is filled with tiny crosses literally holding us together!

Colossians 1:17 says,

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is our glue.

Physically

Emotionally

Spiritually

Our family, like Beth Moore’s and probably all of yours, has been broken………….more than once.

I’m thankful today and every day for Jesus.

I’m thankful my family and my soul are held together by something powerful enough to make us better than we were before the brokenness.

Are you in need of glue?

Put your Elmer’s and glue gun aside.

Try Jesus.