At church a few summers ago, I was discussing with a friend the connection between hardship and holiness. I said something along the lines of "we should embrace hardship and look for opportunities to die to ourselves; we'll never have true joy otherwise." Then I scooped up my eight-month-old daughter and took her to the nursery because she had a poopy diaper and it was leaking through her cute little bloomers.
After I changed her, I decided I might as well nurse her too. So I spent my time thinking about what my friend and I discussed and I wallowed in my own spirituality, since what I said seemed so eloquent and holy.
I patted the baby’s back and oops! She spit up! All over her clothes, too. Okay, another change was in order.
Once that was done, I picked her up again, only to hear the familiar gagging sound. Yuck! It came up again! This time, it's not so much on her as it is on me. About a cup's worth of grossness all over my left arm, the sleeve and front of my shirt and all over the baby carrier. If I were home, I would have changed my clothes. Instead, I had to sit through church, spend an hour in the un-air conditioned car, and spend the afternoon at my family reunion smelling like . . . . .. bleeuuch!
After I did my best to clean up, I never actually sat to listen to the service, as I was busy walking her. I was grumpy, to the point that I even questioned why I bothered coming to church just to walk in circles in our entryway. (How many laps of the perimeter would make my daily mile? I guessed thirty and stopped when I got bored.)
When my husband and I got our baby and four other children into the hot van for our hour long drive, and I described my morning to him, I finally saw the truth of my situation; I can't embrace hardship. I don't respond well. I have a wicked heart. I need the grace of Jesus to be thankful for a healthy baby, a great church and a fun afternoon. It is only by the grace of God that I can look past my wet blouse, my boring walk in the entryway and my next few hours. I was gently reminded that an un-airconditioned car ride to visit family is always better than an air conditioned emergency room visit (or worse, a funeral home).
Yes, we should embrace hardship. Jesus did it too. He did it for us, we should do the same. He will carry us through it with grace. No matter what we smell like.
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