Instruction Manual

Adley was down for a nap, Elyse was at her preschool camp so I decided that really quickly I would set the buttons on the new truck to be able to open our garage door without the remote.  I flipped to the page, read the instructions and went for it.  Sounded easy enough.  I tried over and over to set the thing.  Back and forth, up and down the later from the garage door opener to the truck and back again.  I checked the manual and even had one of my good neighbor friends come over to help.  Still nothing.  I managed to erase all the codes to all of our openers but never got it working.  Eventually I Googled it only to find the same instructions.  I was sweating but obsessed with getting it programmed.

I decided to start back at square one and read the manual over.  I quickly discovered I was reading the wrong instructions.  The ones I was reading were for an entirely different set up and model.  Once I corrected the problem and read the right instuctions it took less than 2 minutes to complete.  I wanted to do a cartwheel once I was done.  I was so excited to see the garage door go up and down at the command of that small black button just because I told it to.  As excited as I was, there was no way to ignore what had gotten me there.  

I was reading the wrong instructions.  No matter how hard I tried, no matter how perfectly I followed the steps verbatim, it was NEVER going to work.

Later that evening as I replayed the story for Matt, I realized how much life is like that.  How much parenting is like that.  How easily I can pick up a pamphlet of the things this world wants me to impress on my children.  The kind of things it wants me to allow in my home.  The kind of ways it wants me to love and discipline them.  The constantly changing manual that currently wants me to challenge my husband and let my kids run the show.

I can't afford to read the wrong instructions.  What should have taken 2 minutes took me over 2 hours because I was on the wrong page.  I can't risk that with my marriage or my children.

The beauty of my story was that I found the correct instructions that fit perfectly with my need and my goal.  They made sense and they worked and I rejoiced.

The beauty of this life is that I have the right manual with the perfect instructions.  It doesn't matter if I got off track or lost in another book.  It's still the same.  Forever.  It's truths tried and true, it's methods unfailing, it's love unending, it's perfection astounding.  When I do it, it works.  

Our pastor often says, "If you live life within the margins of scripture life will go well for you, if you don't, life will not go well for you."  That is so, so true.

I struggle with reading my bible like I should.  I struggle with feeling guilty about the times I know I do wrong, make bad choices, say harsh things.  I REALLY struggle with having confidence as a Godly parent.  When I look at the Bible as standards I'll never live up to, I'm doomed from the start........but that isn't in the book.  He knew none of us would be able to do it which is why He sent us Jesus.  That's a statement I've heard so many times, yet I lose sight of so often.  I do too much of this and too little of that.....describes me pretty well.  It's hard for me.  A lot.  It just seems to good to be true, salvation, grace, forgiveness, eternal life.  It isn't too good to be true but I get overwhelmed with so many emotions at the mere thought of it all.    

"It's too good to be true, but too good to pass up".....another thing our pastor says a lot.    

I have the right book.  I need to always start there.