unAnchored

Two weekends ago my sister stayed with us to help me care for Wesley while Hillary was with family. We visited Celebrate West Hartford, which like a town fair. There was face painting and since there was now way Wesley would sit still for that he got an anchor tattoo. Looking back, this has been a month where we've felt as if we're moving all over the place. Family has been in town, Hillary has gone on vacation and visited family. I'm gearing up for our annual missions trip with our teens and then we're off to the Poconos for a few days of vacation. It has hard to imagine it slowing down, though I know that time will come.
While all this is happening there have been times where we are deeply anchored despite the activity. I've been reading through 1st John and in there I keep running into the theme of "abiding:" abiding in Jesus, his love, his commandments, and the opposite, abiding in death, the ways of the devil, indifference, and hatred. Even amidst busyness and stress there are times when we have been abiding, in a right way, and it has made all the difference. I want to grow in abiding, not just because it helps me deal with life, but because I love God and it is what he deserves. That is a huge idea to unpack, because often we think of what we deserve and are owed. Thinking about what God is owed helps me all the unanchored times in perspective. This isn't some wooden legal sort of things but the dynamics of a real relationship. Maybe I'll write more in the future.