He Longs to Make Things Nice and Easy

I’ve been through this process hundreds of times,

but for some reason this morning the phrase “place your hands in the expert gloves” made me laugh out loud.

I looked at my hands.

I looked at the flimsy, plastic gloves.

And I thought to myself, “Expert gloves?!?”

Neither my hands nor the gloves looked qualified for such a description.

Maybe just having the nerve to slip the gloves on my hands qualified me for the task;

but as the color often runs down my forehead and stains my wrist,

I’m not so sure.

Isn’t life like this in so many ways?

We slip our hands into roles and responsibilities and jobs and projects that are way over our head,

hoping to discover a little bit of expertise along the way.

Maybe it’s the courage to simply put the gloves on that counts.

Maybe it’s the willingness to give something a try we’ve never tried before that matters.

Maybe it’s the openness of risking failure that pushes us forward toward levels of mastery we never thought possible.

My kids continue to give me reasons to color my hair.

But along the way, they also teach me what it means to be courageous, adventurous, daring, open to new things.

They keep me young at heart even on the days when I am feeling very tired.

They stir laughter from me even on days when nothing seems that funny.

My kids teach me more about what it means to trust God fully than I could ever learn in any book.

Maybe that’s why God says we must become like children in order to enter Heaven?

Maybe they understand just how easy it is to slip into gloves we feel unworthy to wear.

Life isn’t always “nice and easy,” but I’m thankful God continues to give me the courage to slip on “expert gloves” even when I feel much less qualified than an amateur and then allows me to live a full and fun life in spite of myself.

Today, are you feeling inadequate?

Do you feel like you don’t quite have what it takes for the task ahead of you?

Do you need a little nudge in order to take the next step?

Do you wish decisions were a little more “nice and easy”?

Let God become your expert gloves.

Slip your hands into His plans.

He longs to empower you today.

Trust Him with all your weaknesses and let Him lead you toward a full and adventurous life.

With Him all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26)

You can do all things through Him who gives you strength. (Phil. 4;13)

Are you needing expert gloves today?

Turn to Him.

He already holds you right where you need to be.

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands……………. 

Isaiah 49:16

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all;

but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess”

~ Martin Luther