teamwork

Thinking only of himself, the boy scampers to find eggs on his own and greed is evident.  He wanted the prize to himself and he didn't want to share the excitement.

When we talk with him about including others and working together to find the eggs, he whines and makes up excuses not to have the conversation.  "But, I'm tired...I'm hungry..."

We're just like that sometimes.

I wanted everything perfectly sweet and fun, and because it wasn't turning out that way I wanted to yell at the boy and scream that this is how it is.

Then I wanted to give up and walk away.

I wanted to do the very same thing this six-year-old was doing.  It wasn't fun at that moment and it wasn't perfectly sweet.  It was hard to see the ugly.  The ugly in the boy's attitude - his pride and selfish greed.  And the ugly in my thoughts to want to walk away.

And then there was Grace.

God used the worldly-fun we created 
                          and He made it an opportunity for us to worship.

In his eggs the boy finds a stone and it reads: teamwork.

And right then, God showed me the importance of staying through the discomfort and talking it through.

Teamwork became our focus.

I tell the boy about soccer and how only some people get a goal, and how in spite of that the whole team is invited to the celebration.

The boy wonders what soccer has to do with eggs and I just smile.

I think of Peter (and John) rushing to the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest, and how they finally believed Him when they saw His body was gone.  I wonder in that moment - what if they had kept that truth for themselves?  

Living is a huge responsibility.  It's about so much more than ourselves.

We have a responsibility with our lives to choose carefully - not living for ourselves, but to include others - to lay down our lives {our wants, our prizes, our goals}, and invite others to the party.

Teamwork is what God intended when He chose not to make Eve, a companion for Adam.  And when God freed the Israelites, He didn't just do it Himself.  He assembled a team of participants in His Story.

We tell the boy about how we include others in our house.  We invite others in and to be a part of our activity.

I quietly pray our hearts would invite others to the real celebration that is yet to come.

And then, when we moved on from our conversation, hope stirs in my heart as the boy quietly, yet excitedly, comes up to whisper something important to me:

"I believe {in God}, Mama!"

Lord, I pray that you would teach us everyday what it means to give up everything for you - including our *greed for the excitement of life*.  Life isn't fair, and I pray you would help us to know that truth and to press closer to you and honor you by the way we love others.

Thank you, Lord,  for Peter and John, and Mary and so many others who shared the Good News of your resurrection.

And thank you, Lord, for the people in my own life who included me in their *excitement for you*.  

Give us *your heart* for teamwork, Father.

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Unwrapped *Gifts* of {Grace}...

...enjoying intimacy with my groom...

...green grace and colorful flowers...

...preparing a meal together...

...full out laughter in bed...

...a gentle voice - an answer to prayer when all I'd been hearing was hardness...

...an idea for a book...

...a friend's honesty of *who* I was serving...

...feeling my spirit as I swim...

...piano practice with the boy not being so hard...

...waking to find it was only a {bad} dream...

...joy in our home...

...*seeing* how I encourage living in freedom, and how God brought me to this place...