Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wrapped Around Her Thumb

Now... that's my girl!
This picture hit my mobile phone today, sent by my wife. It came at a particularly key moment... today was the type of day that helps me realize that my paycheck is earned. I have been a loyal employee of the Kroger Company for a dozen years now. I can tell you without reservation that I love my job, and I enjoy working each day. Even so... there are days that are difficult. 

I manage people, and I manage through relationships. I care about them and I want them to succeed. Today was a difficult day for one of my shop managers, and I was walking that fine line of being compassionate for a person whom I supervise. Life sometimes has consequences, but our challenge is to allow ourselves to be made better by them, and not crushed.

In the heat of the moment... I received this photo, and my perspectives shifted from the tension of the moment... to align properly. On my phone was my daughter. She was with her momma and her thumb was securely tucked into her mouth. And to top it all off, Sterling was learning to become a loyal Kroger shopper. The differing aspects of my life had dropped into perfect alignment!

These days are amazing. My wife said it best on a Facebook post:
I always wanted a third child. I imagined it was a sort of wild card, to shake things up a bit and make life a little more exciting. Seems pretty accurate. So much fun my Miss Sterling!
The picture was a conversation stopper, and it immediately changed the tone of the room. Talk suddenly shifted to our families, our faith, and our involvement in living out belief. It was like a cooling mist had fallen, and everyone breathed deeply. I joked that her thumb may be in her mouth, but I am forever wrapped around her thumb.

In the end, we all want the same thing. We want to have our head rest easily at night, and we want to share meaningful experiences with those we love. You strip away all the noise, and we simply want to look truth in the eye and not be ashamed.

Life through the eyes of a child. Perspectives shared by a new-again mother. Simple reminders of who we want to be.

We are so thankful that you are on this journey with us. May we all find our focus fresh everyday.

Life isn't about advancement, it is about sacrificing to a cause greater than yourself. - Thank you Pastor Tom.

Romans 12:1-2 ~ The Message

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out.

Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 

-I could hardly wait to get home and hold her. 

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