I do a pretty good job of living in a bubble. I take care of my kids, clean the house, do laundry, play at the park, spend time with friends and family, go to the local grocery store....you get the picture.....and I like it. I like to pretend we live in a world of peace, calm and cleanliness and no swine flu :). I like to keep my head buried in the sand, as DEEP as I can....but yesterday was different.
My sister-in-law, mother-in-law, the boys and I went to G.I. because I needed some stuff at Sam*s Club and we decided to head to the mall for a little bit....we walked into a store and there were jeans priced at $198.00 and I became ill....literally sick to my stomach, have to leave the store, want to go home, type of ill. I became fearful of the world Parker and Owen will grow up in....
Yes, I know not all jeans are $198.00. No, there is nothing inherently evil about $198.00 jeans. It was just such a shock to me to think that there is that kind of value placed in a piece of clothing....with HOLES in them no less! Yeah, I am probably starting to sound like a crazy old woman, but I don't care because the Lord spoke such truth to me through this experience as I prayed about it last night.
He reminded me that as Christians we will look different....we must. And not in the "I am so nice and don't swear and go to church on Sundays" kind of way. We will look different...and the more ugly the world gets the more different we must look if we are seeking Him.
Fear and anxiety began creeping in.....
"But Lord, I don't want my kids to look so different that others won't like them. I want them to fit in and be accepted and well-liked. "
Really? Does that really matter? Is that really a priority? What does this say about my heart?
I am still processing what it looks like and am thankful I have some years to gain wisdom and understanding before I am faced with these issues in my children. BUT, I must begin to pray for courage.....
Courage to make the choice to be different even when it isn't comfortable. Courage to go against the "norm". Courage to choose Christ above all else. Courage to stand for what I believe when I am not in my bubble.....
$198.00......seriously, that is like 10 cases of diapers, enough food to feed our Compassion International child for 6 months.....I mean the sales tax on that pair of jeans is more than I would spend on a pair of jeans (without holes!)....
And Parker spent most of his time climbing the large, might I add HOT and dangerous, rock that was beside the sprinkler pad. Seriously, whose idea was it to put this rock right next to a large slab of wet pavement? Who would put something like this next to the sprinkler park? What 3-year-old boy could resist? 
