Have an Uncomfortable Day

I’ll admit it...I like to be comfortable. Like spoiled comfy. For example...I’m writing this under my heated blanket in my stretchy pants, with a fresh latte by my side. Believe it or not, mommyhood does not lend itself to a ton of comfortable situations. More often than not you won’t find me here, but pulling someone down off the counter, chasing a kid with clean clothes, or scrubbing some unknown leftover off of a messy face. I’m not complaining...just saying I can think of more pleasant scenarios...like my current one.

The mommy discomfort doesn’t end there. They have mastered the art of providing me with an uncomfortable day. In fact I’m way more likely to experience it out in public. I’ve kinda gotten to the point where I’m a little nervous to take my kids out of the house. Not because I’m afraid they’ll behave badly...although I make no guarantees in that department...but because I’m afraid of what they’ll say. For example when my husband gave a small Christmas gift to someone he knew probably wouldn’t be getting much, if anything, else. Our five year old, Bez, was so excited to give it to the gentleman and handed it over with gusto followed by...”We bought this for you because you have no money and no food”. As soon as he started talking I could see where the conversation was headed and no matter how hard I tried I could not talk over Bez loud enough to drown out the awkward comment. He quickly followed it up with...”Hey dad, maybe you should give him some of our money so he can buy his own food. #facepalm. For the record...that’s not what we told him when we bought the gift...just that we wanted to do something nice for someone who would be alone on Christmas. Bez took a few liberties from there.

More common though are the comments that come in the checkout line, walking down the sidewalk, or my personal favorite...in the hotel pool where there is no good escape. The comment that’s supposed to be whispered, but we all know what the kid version of a whisper is. One of the boys will inevitably lean over to my husband or I and ask loudly...”Hey, do they love Jesus?” It’s never loud enough for the person to actually hear what they’re saying...just loud enough for them to know our kids are talking about them. Because of that we have to let them in on the secret...which always opens up the door to a conversation about our faith. I love that our kids care. That they want people to know Jesus and want them to go to Heaven...I just don’t know why they insist on telling them in the most awkward way possible. Now I know I’m supposed to be good at that anyway. I’m supposed to be taking opportunities to tell people about Jesus every day. I’ve been a believer my whole life and have an unending number of testimonies about His goodness and all of the amazing things He’s done for me. But for some reason it’s still hard. I know it shouldn’t be difficult to bring up the subject with people, but I still get nervous, tongue tied, you name it. It’s still uncomfortable. And as I said...I like comfort. I like doing things my way...in my time...with my own words.

Shocking as it may be, my kids don’t care about my preferences on this subject. It’s like they sense our time with these people is brief and they know that the most important thing to talk to them about is Jesus. At ages three and five our boys have figured out how to make the most of the opportunities God gives them. And so mommy’s comfort goes out the window. I have no choice but to launch into a conversation, telling them the boys are wondering if they love Jesus. If they know Him like we do. As uncomfortable as it is, it has opened incredible doors to talk to people. It’s given me chances to share His love with people that I probably would have overlooked on my own. So I’m ok with it. If that’s how God is using our family, if that’s how our boys are learning to share the love of Jesus, if that’s how I learn to step out of my comfort zone, I’m ok with it. And I hope you are too...no matter how unideal the scenario.

So there you have it. I hope you have an uncomfortable day.