Finding The Something We Need

God allows all kinds of storms in our lives. They grow us and hopefully teach us to depend on Him more. I’m grateful for the lessons God taught me as I was caring for my dear mama. Oh how I miss her. I wish I could cuddle close to her right now.

But I love the way God continues to use her words to speak to me as I go through new storms and challenges and craziness. He is good all the time. This is a memory from a few years ago…

 

Mom needed something and so did I in the storm and the crazy of today….

I cuddled close to Mama on the love seat, hugging her close and stroking her hair. I wanted to soak in all the sweetness I could before the storm started.

Because a little while later I gave her a bath and she hollered and shouted as loudly as she could. And she kept looking me in the eyes and her expression was a mix of fear and anger.  And it felt like her soul was shouting through her eyes, “How can you do this to me?” I tried to comfort her, but in her confusion she couldn’t understand why I put her through such a harsh thing as a warm bath.

I got her dried off and dressed as quickly as I could. And then I sat close to her again, on the love seat.  She had already forgotten the bath and I was trying to. We chatted…well, mostly Mom jabbered, some of it nonsensical. She said, “What’s Raymon doing? He’s crazy.  He should be crazy by now.”

And I thought, with all that Dad deals with, she’s right.  He should be crazy by now. But he does seem surprisingly sane.

At one point Mom said, “Well, I need something.” Then she looked me right in the eyes, as if I was the answer, and asked, “Are you something?”

And it makes me think how many times people feel the need for an allusive something.  We know something is missing. And we look for it.  Sometimes we look to people and relationships, and expect them to fill the gap and fix the need.

And sometimes people look to success, or money, or the perfect house, or the perfect children or even the perfect ministry to be the something that makes everything better and right. Or maybe it’s a habit or addiction that becomes the comfort and the “something”.

And though these things may give pleasure, the need is still nagging and longing to be filled. Because Jesus is the only “something” that truly fills us.

He is faithful and He is the One who knows us and loves us and meets our real needs and carries us through all the storms.  Jesus sustains us and satisfies us, even when nothing is perfect. Even when everything is falling apart.  He is the answer.  He is our “something”!