The Fuzzy Kinds

 

I watched the chubby, little blondie scuttle around the yard. The warm sunshine was causing her little cheeks to flush and turn pink and its glow splashed onto her head and it looked as if she was wearing a halo. She ran freely, having a blast, with not a care in the world. 

We had just finished having a tailgate picnic lunch, of what else, other than chicken nuggets and french fries. The warm, March sun, soft breeze, and Veggie Tale music we listened to made for a delightful afternoon indeed. 

Except, my heart didn’t quite feel that same carefree glee my Grand-girl emoted. My heart was a bit heavy today...as it had been for several in a row now. 

I captured her attention with a “lellow” (yellow) dandelion. She flashed a smile at me, plucked it from my hand and took off around her little world carrying the flower like a prized trophy. 

As I sat and took it all in, I thought about the goodness of God and His wonderful creation. It was all good! 

My eyes caught a glimpse of the fuzzy dandelions; you know, the ones we blow into the wind. I brought Evy over to show her. 
I plucked it from the ground and gently blew the fluff into the wind. She grinned. I grabbed another. Again, I blew it into the wind. She winced and hid her face as if it was going to get in her eyes. End of story. She didn’t care much for the dull, fuzzy flowers as well. Instead, she walked around the yard puffing into the bright, lellow one. 

Same flower. Different stage. Hmmm...and ugh. 

As an adult, I’ve now learned to know, “It’s okay not to be okay.” Whether it’s a bright lellow day or a dull, fuzzy one, whether my heart longs to soar or simply feels sore - I know it won’t always be this way. Yet, I find I don’t care for the in-your-face stuff either. 

There are days when we rejoice, days when we weep. Days when we’re ready to take on the world, and ones we want to hide away from it all. Days when we smile and know all is well, days when our hearts are heavy and we wear those fake smiles. Yet, we still know deep down that all is well. But God. 

All these emotions are normal - and expected. God placed verses in His Word specifically for times like such.  

Here are a few verses for those moments:

Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider this: God also hath set the one over against the other...”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says,  “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

And finally,

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

The enemy of our soul would like nothing more than to weigh us down and make us wince and shy away from the hard days. He wants to see our demise, he sure doesn’t want us to gain what he lost, and he’ll tell us every lie in the book to make us feel like we’ve failed because we’re not soaring on cloud nine. 

Those moments when we feel like we’re “too much” or simply “not enough” are just that - moments. When our heart is troubled and we feel out of sorts, we can remember God is still there and making all things beautiful. This won’t last always!

On “those” days when we feel a little extra weak and vulnerable, a little more crabby than happy, when we’re not high-stepping to the tune of When The Saints Go Marching In, when we’re sick to death of the fuzzy, gray fluff getting all up in our face and we just want to sit this one out for a minute. It’s okay. All is well!

God’s plan is always for us to thrive, not just survive. He likes the lellow flowers too! 

He created both stages though. 

I recall a verse in the Bible about what was meant for our bad being turned for our good. What a blessed assurance. Remember that one?!

Today, my heart might not be carefree and the sun might not shine on my head like a halo, but it’s okay not to be okay- all is well anyhow. Amen!!! I have faith and trust in the One who made it all, including me, and He says it’s all good. 

Maybe you needed to hear this today too, or know someone who does. We all get there from time to time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but how often do we want to quickly blow away those feelings for others and tell them to get with the program? God, help us be patient with one another and remember we have those days too. 

Maybe not today, but very soon, we’ll be out there again, running the race with that lellow  trophy in our own hands. We’ll enjoy the wind in our face and the warm sunshine on our heads, but until then, know that God declared the fuzzy flowers to be good too. It is well. And so are we. 

Be blessed and encouraged right where you find yourself today.