Are we there yet...

My wife and I are in the midst of traveling to spend the fourth of July holiday with her family in Richmond. After going through the checklist of items, making sure the dogs had plenty of water and all the doors were locked we were on the way. An hour and a half into the trip our 2 year old son Corbin started getting a little fussy. We tried putting in a different DVD, goldfish and juice with minimal success. You see, he’s at that stage where he can recognize something isn’t right, but hasn’t developed the vocabulary to express what’s actually going on. We pulled into a gas station and found the culprit, a dirty diaper. Following a nascar pit-stop we were back on the road. The next few hours were a restful trip to our destination.

As I drove in the darkness through the Virginia countryside I thought about the diaper. I think most parents learn a great deal about themselves through their children. In that moment God taught me a powerful lesson. As Christians we often go through seasons where we just don’t feel right, something is out of whack. Many times we’re unable to express what we’re feeling or can’t even put our finger on what is actually causing the discontentment. In the case of my son, his displease was stemming from what he was sitting in. Without being too graphic can you see a parallel? Corbin knew something wasn’t right but it wasn’t until mom and dad inspected the situation that the problem was identified. We could have told Corbin, “boy you’re sitting in a mess, get up and change yourself”. He’s two that would have been ridiculous.

Here’s what God put on my heart. As a leader in the church, what do I do when I notice someone is discontent, something just isn’t right in their life. Do I look at the circumstances and chalk it up as a bad day or do I press in to find out what is going on. Discontentment has multiple origins. It can come from a great place, a holy discontent as God is working in their life. But sometimes it stems from a heart that has ended up in a place they never dreamed possible and they’re paralyzed. There are many great things that come with being in a leadership role, but sometimes you’ll have to change some diapers. After we dealt with the situation with my son, after we cleaned him up he enjoyed the rest of the trip…don’t let people miss out on life because you don’t want to deal with the mess.