I met her one Sunday at church, when her and her husband dropped off their precious daughter to the toddler room. Momma was kind, grateful, and pregnant. super pregnant. Dad had a warm smile, and kissed his two year old little sweetie on the forehead before walking down the hall with his wife to attend the service.
There was something about them. Their family.
I turned to the amazing toddler team as the couple left to attend the service. "I like them," I said.
and I knew. from thirty seconds spent with them. The Spirit of God was ALIVE in their family, and ALIVE in their hearts. and I was going to know them. I was going to hear their stories. I was going to love them.
Babysitting was obviously the easiest route to go about succeeding in this new plan. So I suggested it one Sunday morning.
Momma was thrilled. I watched baby girl the very next week.
... and loved every single second of it. Eva is incredibly articulate for being newly two. She is curious. She is social. She is comfortable with structure and routine. She is a little bookworm.
A girl after my own heart.
Life progressed. and so did the weekly visits and story-telling and dessert making. You guys, I can't even begin to tell you how at home I feel. It's a good feeling. It's a really really good feeling.
Here's the thing. I can smell a fake anywhere. It was a skill I developed and perfected in high school. Perhaps because I'm a professional at putting on a mask, I can sniff out the others that are creating facades, the internal struggle reflecting an opposite reality.
I really believe that when girls (and boys too, perhaps) don masks to hide their own insecurity and doubt, what they really crave is authenticity. We yearn for sincerity and grace-filled honesty.
So when I met this mom, and I saw her family so covered in honesty and so drenched in grace, I knew that I was about to embark on a crazy voyage. Of uncovering. Of resting. Of joy.
She was real. She is real.
My desire is to be known as a woman who's on a wild adventure with Jesus, a woman who loves her people, and lives a full life. But also, a woman who isn't afraid to have the curtain pulled back for a peek at her continual struggle to balance beauty and bedlam.
This is who she is, Eva's momma. She is one extremely beautiful, hilarious, imperfect, exhausted, Kingdom-building mom who is simply doing her best to point her imperfect children toward Jesus.
When I'm in her home, I can just exhale. and be honest.
Because this is real life. It might not always be pretty. It might not always be polite or fun or picture perfect.
Yet He woos me regardless. Jesus is calling the weary, the hurting, the uncertain, the unorganized.
Jesus doesn't need perfect people. We just get to come. No strings attached.
That's what I'm continually reminded of in her home. Because her and her husband have modeled it. Together. As a cohesive, unified, passionate team.
The Gospel is already complete without me. I'm not called to perform to perfection. I'm not called to have it all together. I'm not called to please people.
So let's just BE.
Let's disciple and mentor and share when He's given us wisdom. Let's acknowledge our desperate need for help. Let's be free to rest and abide.
When that happens, freedom is abundant.
Wherever you are, whoever you're with, I invite you to be vulnerable.
The Spirit of God has anointed you as chosen. He dwells with you and in you and through you. So your vulnerability is okay. It's welcome. Necessary, even.
The older I get, the more acutely aware I am of how little I know, and my desire to know Him more deeply grows. With the increased understanding of my weakness, as well as my strengths, the more I am made aware of my desperate need for Jesus. I so desperately need Jesus.
In their home, I belong somehow. I am free to be honest in my weakness, and equally as free to exhibit my strengths. I am loved there. I am welcome there.
... and I couldn't be more grateful.
Part of the reason I write in this space is to publicly thank God for what He is doing. In a life full of thistles, I struck pure gold when Jesus brought me to this family.
Thank you, Jesus.
It is my great privilege to introduce you to some of my favorite people: The Sprague Family.
Paul, Erin, Eva, and baby Beckett.
Don't be afraid to step out in boldness, and watch God move. He loves to bless you.
*The Sprague's, along with several other people near and dear to my heart, are always visible over in the FACES tab :)
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