Moving to Yellow

Monday afternoon I went to pick up Grant from school. There is a pick up line, so I could see him from a distance. Most days, he is swinging his back pack, waving at me and being silly with his friends.

Not this day.

He stood still, looked toward the van and sheepishly held up his hand to wave. Uh oh. Something is wrong. It was my turn, so I pulled closer and I could tell he was about to cry.

"What's wrong, Buddy?" No response. His face turned red and tears bubbled over. I rolled down the window to talk with his teacher.

"He got on yellow today, Mom."

Now, little Grant is a pleaser, pleaser, pleaser and prides himself in the fact that in all his school days (he's in kindergarten) he has never had his card moved off of green. Heaven forbid it.

She continued, "He was playing pretend bow and arrow and when we were ready to move on, he continued playing. Not a big deal. But it was disruptive."
"So what happens now?" I asked.
With a big smile and a laugh she replied, "He goes back to green tomorrow. Just like with Jesus. We always start back with green!"

I love this woman. We had a good laugh over how she phrased it, but so true! I love it. What a teaching opportunity for little Grant. What a great reminder for me.

In Christ, we are New. Clean. Washed. If you recall from yesterday, we talked about the water that Jesus gives. The meaning for water was spirit...new birth: a setting aside of all that the believer was according to the flesh. Christ sets aside all that we were. Did you hear that. ALL THAT YOU WERE. Forgotten. Stop living there. He moves our card, by grace, to green.

Christ says, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9. Hear my heart when I say this, Grant needed to be knocked off of his proud pedestool of never having his card moved. He doesn't need God on green. He needs him on yellow. We need God in our weakness. Some of my richest times with the Lord and biggest spiritual growth spurts have occurred in my darkest hours. If you ask me to name the one time I felt closest to God I would tell you it was when my mother was sick with cancer. It is in those dark hours that I know that I know that I know his grace is sufficient for me.

Paul says, "therefore, I boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" 1 Corinthians 12:9b-10. There is no gray area here. We are either in our own power or in Christ's power. I want the latter. I want to embrace and delight in my weaknesses. Lord knows I have plenty. It is in my imperfections that I am perfect. What a paradox.

Thank you Lord for sufficent grace. Thank you that your power that rests on me. Today, Lord, I delight in my weaknesses.

For it is on yellow that I am strong.

Be blessed.