And [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:18-20
I was sitting next to my friend at Finley’s ballet class yesterday when my phone rang. The screen told me who it was: HOME.
The boys were there, and I fully expected to be begged for permission to watch some movie while I was gone, or to hear a report that they had gotten in a fight about something and needed a mediator. But, no. I could NEVER have guessed I would hear my son tell me this:
“Mom. Mom. MOM. I was just SITTING in the chair at the kitchen table, eating cereal, and the chair FLEW OUT from underneath me. I got cereal ON MY HEAD. The chair leg is INSIDE THE WALL. Mom. Mom. I don’t even know what happened.”
Well, jeepers creepers, buddy, this one is for the BOOKS. Here is photo evidence for everyone out there who is thinking, “What in the what in the what does this even mean???”
I can’t explain it, but I was at total peace when I saw this. I wasn’t even angry. Or upset. I was stunned, of course. Amazed. Perplexed, even.
The thing is, I have been angry about a lot of things lately. And this chair-in-the-wall scenario doesn’t even come close to touching all the sad things I carry. Our beloved University of Texas was struck by tragedy this week. I have friends who are incurably sick. My world includes fragile tales of husbands and wives whose bodies gave out and sent them to Jesus far too early in life. In my city there are babies who are not safe, even in their own homes. On the news, every night, we can see that the world is apparently full of people who are supposed to love others better, trust God more, believe the best of their friends, and be kinder to strangers..don’t.
The hardest part of it all is that I am one of those people who frequently gets lost in my own little life. I forget that there is a whole world around me in need of more love. A better world must first be born within our very hearts, and carried in our own hands.
Sometimes you just have to go home, take the chair leg out of the wall and get on with the restoration.
Colossians 1:18-20 reminds us that when everything broken tries to shout at us, saying that there is no way any of this can work out, the only way to find peace amidst the noise is to remember that Christ is above and before everything else. He is reconciling all things to Himself. Jesus is our great King, and will one day soon right all the wrongs we’ve ever seen or known.
At the very end of ballet class, my daughter’s teacher took the center of the room while thirty little girls sat and watched in wonder. She had her pointe shoes on, which the girls positively swoon over. She stood, poised to dance, and then the music began. All these little ballerinas, who are just learning the basics, sat in awe of this incredible woman as she spun and leaped and dazzled them with her dancing. They all cheered at the end, and then ran to find us, and the lobby was full of exuberant girls, all joyfully saying the same things: Mom! Mom! Did you see Ms. Kelly? She did her dance for the recital! Did you see how FAST she did it? It was so amazing! Mom! I hope you saw!
I saw. I saw Ms. Kelly dance. I see other things, too. I see that God is dancing for us, too. He is mighty and He is sovereign. He is good and He is love. Jesus is offering us a better way to live by dying to our own ideas about how He ought to answer our prayers. He asks us to follow the steps of His own dance and trust that whatever it may feel like, however ugly and complicated our realities may be, He is reconciling all things to Himself. Maybe it isn’t as fast as we’d like for it to be, but when my heart considers the cross, I know that His way of loving sacrifice and faithful submission to God is more powerful than any darkness that we face.
So today, I am trying to get the steps right and find my way through the music of our world. I am praying this prayer, reminding my soul of the truth of Colossians 1. It helps make the heavy things easier to carry, and I can dance after all.
Lord, I thank You that today, You are the light that overcomes the world. I thank you that life, with all its sharp edges and cracks and flaws, is a gift, and You are using our lives to bring your glory into the earth. Open our eyes to see Your Kingdom, Your ways, Your truth, and show us Your way of peace today. We love you, Jesus. Thank you for being Lord, and for reconciling all things to Yourself by the power of Your sacrifice on the cross. We refuse to be discouraged or disillusioned, and we choose instead to believe You are the Christ, Son of the Living God, and that You have come to give life and freedom to all who call upon Your name. We ask all of this in Your precious name, Jesus. We love You. Amen
Eloquent and so very much needed. Thank you!