Dry spaghetti...

I was blissfully enjoying my morning shower when my son calmly walked into the bathroom...
K - "Hi, Mommy. How are you doing?"
Mommy - "I'm fine son, what is it that you need? I am taking a shower."
K - "Oh, yeah. Ummmm...I think the toaster is on fire."
Mommy - "WHAT????!!!!!"
K - "Maybe the toast is on fire or something."
I had just put the shampoo in my hair when he made this revelation. I grabbed my towel and robe and ran downstairs to find that the toaster was filled with what looked like charcoal. There was no fire, praise God, but it had tripped the reset button on the outlet.

Did you ever know (and I mean really KNOW) that God is trying to teach you something? For the past several days nothing has gone according to plan. The kids have been fighting like crazy, I am frazzled and tired and just about at the end of my rope. Unfortunately it took all of the above for me to consult God about what he may be trying to work on in my life. Lord, what are you trying to tell me? What needs to change? Please help me to know! I calmed my mind and heart when I got back into the shower (it's really the only place I can think) and God said,

"Bend or break?" 

What? Bend or break...?

When I reflected over the events of the past few days I realized what that means. You see, I tend to be very "first born" in my need for things to go according to plan (i.e. Just do it my way and everything will be fine). I realized that I am, once again, getting way too caught up in the little details and am missing the big picture.

God is gently trying to teach me flexibility. My dear friend (who is a treasure trove of object lessons) once illustrated this with a piece of dry spaghetti and a piece of cooked spaghetti. I am "dry spaghetti" right now. Things aren't working out and I am snapping all over the place. I need to be flexible, teachable so I don't get so stressed out. The cool thing about cooked spaghetti? You can bend and mold it into just about any shape you want. That's what God wants for me. He wants me to stay flexible...even when the toaster is on fire.

Hoping you all have a "cooked spaghetti" day!