Sunday afternoon is usually the only time I feel that I need a nap. After speaking twice and talking to many people I often find myself a little worn out. I know there are pastors who speak numerous times in a weekend and are probably more exhausted than me; however, I always attempt to take an hour or so to sleep. More times than not, I cannot sleep more than twenty or thirty minutes for whatever reason. Sometimes that reason for sleep-deprivation is very obvious…due to the fact that my two kids refuse to take naps. “We don’t take naps” and “we’re not tired” result in Leah and I always allowing them to read quietly in their rooms or find something to do which doesn’t require noise. Normally, we make them stay in their own rooms because once they get together things have a tendency to spiral downward. Yesterday, I was particularly fatigued and I slept an hour, I think. I was brought out of my slumber because Ty and Lexi were coming into our room and then exiting. I knew something was up. I decided that this time I’d allow Leah to sleuth the situation and sure enough, a few minutes later Leah informed me what had happened while we were sleeping. Some of the details are still vague, so I’ll do my best not incriminate the innocent.

When Leah came into the room, she was holding “Baby Alive” which is a doll Lexi received as a Christmas present a couple years back. The doll is supposed to appear real and have skin similar to a human’s. I’m assuming the skin is not real, but I do not take anything for granted. However, this doll had undergone an extreme makeover courtesy of our eldest and only son, Ty. There were a pair of scissors in Lexi’s room (we are bad parents, I know) which Ty used to provide a new “do” for the doll and it looks like he also had enough time for a quick facial reconstruction because her face was cut up. He will never be a plastic surgeon. Lexi swears she didn’t tell Ty to do this, but she didn’t seem to put up much of a fight. My best guess – both of them had a hand in plastic surgery. This doll will never be the same!

It is amazing what can happen when we are asleep. One minute, everything is normal…the next minute, everything is out of control. Nationwide is right, “Life comes at you fast.” To handle these times of change, how is a follower of Christ supposed to react? The obvious answer is that a person must recognize that nothing is outside of God’s control; however, does that always satisfy? Absolutely not. God is invisible and we often feel He is silent during these times of hardship, but John teaches his readers a concept which is profound. He writes, “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us” (1 John 4:12). When we love others through their time of hardship or change, that person is able to see God in us.

Does someone you know need to see God today?