Strategy

The troops flood the breakfast remnants ever-ready for defense of the coveted sugar cubes.
"Who is who?  Is someone winning?" I ask six-year-old General Zion who steadies a trembling plastic private.
"Not yet Mommy," he answers, "first I have to finish getting everybody ready for battle!"

I know you know that our house is sometimes its own battlefield.  With our combination of strong wills, driven leadership instincts (all adopted babes are first borns from their maternal biological families), and rebellious hearts like mine; conflict resolution takes creative strategy! Yet I often find myself in the midst of chaos before I have a plan!  I cling to the hope of peace and flourishing lives submitted to selfless choices, but sometimes these parenting desires feel far out of reach.

I am happily awed by the consistent lessons our children teach me through their straight forward outlook in the moment.  My own heart must prepare for success in the battles we all face!  Between their words and through a peek into the garden, I hope to offer some encouragement for the day!

Come check on my experimental idea on the sunny side of the house.  I planted tomato shoots early in the summer amidst the roses.  Initially, it looked industrious and savvy but by this first week of September, the roses seem weary and the entangled mess appears to be a failed experiment.  I lift the branches as something red catches my eye.  Low and behold, fruit glances up at me; a merry party of healthy tomatoes dangle, delighted to have their secret existence discovered!  There is fruit from hard work, not because I am the best gardener, no, not at all.  The fruit exists because the Master, who planted the idea in the first place, has poured His grace over my endeavor.  And so we focus back to the most important subject, the humans.  God's precious children placed into our lives are His!  The tedious labors of the day inside and outside might look like a mess, but God's love and sovereign plans are good and overflowing, up from the soil, in the deepest places.  Seeds planted from the love of God produce beautiful fruit from His merciful hand.

The only real strategy I've got is to walk closely with God.  When battles rage or the view before you looks like a mess of your own making, God is creating something beautiful through you, His precious child...trust Him for the outcome!