God- the I Am

Apologies if you're offended by some of the wording that follows.  My wife posted this earlier this week on Facebook, and ever since reading it, I've been so grateful for it:

This morning I asked God to make me awesome.

I was like, "Lord, would you please make me strong enough and smart enough and good enough? Make me capable and steadfast and secure and then make me all the other things I'm not and give me everything else I need to be awesome, so I can finally be kickass at life."

And God was all, "Actually? I have a better idea... You do you, frail and broken; you be who you are - and I'll do me, strong and whole; I'll be who I Am. And then we'll kick life in the ass *together*, because when you're not enough, I Am sufficiently graceful, and when you're too weak, I Am perfectly powerful. I don't even need you to be awesome, I just need you to remember that when you're not, it's ok, because I Am on your team."

And I was like, "ooOOOHHHhh, ok... But it would be easier if I was awesome."

And God was all, "Not gonna happen."

Amen.

*adapted from Jamie the Very Worst Missionary post this morning

I want to be awesome.  Life would be easier if I were awesome, there's no doubt in my mind.  If I were good at everything that I needed to be good at- if I could say the right words on command, or know in an instant what to do or how to react- it would just be easier.  But, I'm not awesome.  Sometimes, I'm disappointing- to myself, to you maybe, and to others.  Sometimes, I don't know what to say, sometimes I haven't had my processing time yet.  Sometimes, it's just difficult and no one will know what to say or do.

But God does.  God does because God is.  One of the Hebrew names God has is Yahweh or YHWH which gets translated:  I am who I am, or I will be what I will be.  God is... (you can fill in your adjective here if you want)... powerful, loving, gracious, caring, forgiving, patient, kind- you pick.

I love what Jamie says above- "you do you, frail and broken; you be who you are - and I'll (God) do me, strong and whole; I'll be who I Am."  When I'm on my knees praying for the week to slow down because I can't go any faster, God's right there with me.  When we're mourning and grieving the loss of folks who have died, God's there with an arm on our shoulder.  When we're up against a wall to make a decision and scared we'll make the wrong one- God's beside us holding up the wall because in everything, God's on our team and God makes beautiful things out of chaos and imperfection.  It's not always the most comfortable spot to be in, but somehow even in the midst of uncomfortable-ness, the holiness of God surrounds us, encircles us, enfolds us, and sustains us.

After all, "Be still and know that I Am God." (Psalm 46:10)

Prayer:  Enfold us in your I Am, O Lord.  Give us the confidence to know that we are yours, and whatever we are -  whoever we are - we are enough, and loved, and whole.  In Christ's name, amen.