Fresh Play-Doh

As a mom of a 4 year old girl and 3 year old boy, one of the perks of my job is getting to play with Play-Doh! On inside days when the kiddos get bored or cranky, I pull out the big basket where all the brightly colored dough and various cutters and stencils are stored and we have a blast making "cookies" and other various creations!

The thing is, you have to be careful with Play-Doh. Sometimes if we get too busy and forget to put it back in the containers to store it properly, the dough gets hard and crumbly and it's no longer moldable. When it's not moldable, I have to throw it away because it's no longer fun or useful.

As I was throwing out a dried up can of blue the other day, I was struck by the thought that if not we're not careful we can become like crumbly, dried out Play-Doh on our Christian journey. At first we are full of color and possibility...we have soft hearts and are open and willing for God to shape us and mold us into the girl He wants us to be.

But then life gets tough. Friends we love abandon us, people we trust spread lies about us, family members we need aren't there for us. And we let our faith dry out and our hearts grow hard, until we are no longer moldable and useful for God.

And just like Play-Doh, as our hearts grow hard we can literally start to crumble and fall apart. All that's left of us are tiny pieces of what was once a life that could have been shaped into something really special.

I want to be like fresh Play-Doh! I want to keep a soft, tender heart no matter how mean people and life can be. I don't want to let bitterness make me hard and tough, causing me to eventually crumble. I never want to start trusting in myself or think I have it together without God, losing sight of how He could shape me into something beautiful.

And sweet girl, my dream for you is that you too will desire to remain soft-hearted and moldable, trusting that God, who is more creative than we could ever dream, will shape you into something incredible if you carefully store your life in His hands.

P.S. "The amazing thing is that no matter how hard or crumbly we may become, God will never throw us away! He has the amazing ability to restore our life, our malleability, and our color. So, if you have found yourself dried up or rough around the edges, find comfort in the fact that the Greatest Potter of All can and will still use you. If you only let him!" Thank you to my friend Emily for this addendum...beautifully put and so, so true!!!

Reminds me of Isaiah 61:3 where the Bible says God can make beauty from ashes, and gladness from sorrow. Only God can do something so beautiful, if we will just allow Him to.

Love to all!