Yesterday I went into Crazy 8 to buy K some winter clothes and crazy is exactly what I got! I don’t know how the conversation started, but somehow the women started ranting about how crazy their mother-in-laws are. It was a mess because they were so passionate about telling me about them. They were intense! They “went in! One told me about how her mother-in-law’s been living with them for 6 years and how she treats one of her kids better than the other. Another told me that her mother-in-law ended her marriage. One of the saleswomen’s friends was in the store at the time and chimed in on the craziness. It was a mess! Because they had me cornered in the sales area, all I could do was grin and bear it. In hindsight, I probably should have used the opportunity to witness to them, but I was so overwhelmed by their enthusiasm to share with me their crazy stories, I didn’t think to tell them about Jesus.

In thinking about all that goes on today, crazy seems to be the order of the day. Every day there is a story on the news that makes you think, “Can things get any crazier?” However, I find comfort in knowing that despite the world’s craziness, God saw something worth redeeming. Despite murder, wars, tragedy, poverty, injustice, hatred and inhumanity, God saw something worth saving. Despite my sinful condition, God looked at me and saw something worth redeeming. Imagine how knowing this could help our kids as they grow up? Imagine the compassion that we could cultivate in their hearts if they know that any situation or person no matter how crazy can be redeemed by the power of God.

Romans 5:8 (NRSV) says, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

Thinking about God’s redemptive love is what keeps me pressing towards the mark every day. I believe that it in the end, it will all be worth it. Romans 8:28 (NRSV) says it this way, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” My prayer for K is that he’s able to see situations and people the way God sees them. I pray that he’ll have the ability to see in the Spirit, so when it seems like all hell is breaking loose and things don’t seem to be getting better, he’ll be able to keep pressing forward knowing that there is something in that situation or person worth saving. This is what I should have told the women in Crazy 8. Your mother-in-laws may be crazy, but God can still redeem them. Those negative situations can still be redeemed.

1 John 2:14 contains a little war cry that will help us teach our children.

“I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (NRSV).

What are some of the ways that you’ll teach your children how to deal with life’s craziness?

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