Thursday, May 28, 2009

WHAT HAVE YOU FIXED LATELY?

On earlier occasions I have mentioned that by nature I am “a fixer.” Maybe that’s what all members of the female gender are but not each one admits to it so I don’t think each one is; however I do believe the majority of moms are “fixers.”
I once read a definition that the word FIX means “to permanently attach.” Oops…not good if we’re referring to moms here! Fixing is one thing; permanently attaching is quite another!
Oh, how we do love to see things set right and going along smoothly though. Quite a while back the popular phrase, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” came to my attention and I had to admit that yes, it seemed true in our family when the kids were growing up. And would you believe it’s still true today and the nest has been empty since 1982? What kind of power does that give one with the personality of a fixer?
At age ten, our daughter Kim tripped over the feet of her friend landing in such a way as to break her clavicle. At that point it was the momma part of me who immediately knew that the fixer had to turn things over the doctor. I knew my limits as a fixer, no question there, but the majority of matters of everyday life are not always so simple, are they?
As Kim’s collarbone was in the process of healing, the doctor had me put my fingertips over the broken bone area where I could feel a round, rough knot. He carefully explained that part of the healing process was going to wear the knotty edges smooth and eventually that area of the bone would be stronger than it had been in the first place. Wow! Naturally I had kept a watchful eye so our daughter would follow the doctor’s orders, but was it really possible that all of this extra was going on without my personal input (a.k.a. fixing) it?
In much the same way, could it be that God doesn’t need my help as much as I so often lead myself to believe He does? Can I really trust Him to take what is broken and fix it to be stronger than it was before? The scriptures tell me I can…now all I have to do is remember, rely…and remove myself…
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7 (NLT)

© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 5-28-09