Love Will Save the Day

I have this plaque in my entryway.  There was something about the phrase that captured me, and I just had to hang it somewhere where I could see it daily and have others see it as they enter and leave.    
And now I know why.

Every group with any sort of personality has to have a motto.  So, in joining our community of moms passionate about making Jesus Real, you have to know one thing:  Love will save the day. 
So, repeat after me: 

Love will save the day.  All together now.  Love will save the day. 

Jesus is Love.  He will save the day.  In fact, he already has. 

Every circumstance you face, every trial, every moment of frustration, every heart-wrenching situation, every estranged relationship... the outcome is Jesus.  He has saved the day.  I am having one of those days today, in fact.  That day when you feel as though the incredible investment of time and heart you put into your children's hearts is... not worth it.  The fruit of that eternal labor is seemingly in hiding.  Discouragement enters the scene, and this is when we need a reminder of our motto.  Love will save the day, Love will save the day. 

Can you imagine what we would be like if we truly embraced the victory that Jesus really has in every life situation?  This of course isn't to say that life isn't going to be hard.  Life is hard, and in his trademark honesty, Jesus promises us it will be hard.  But then he says this unbelievable thing.  He says, "But don't worry, because I have overcome the world." 

It's similar to what I say to my sweet Ruby when she spills tomato soup on her pink tutu.  She cries and thrashes around, as most dramatic 3-year-olds do.  But it all stops when I reassure her, "Don't worry, honey.  I have this magical thing called a washing machine.  And Mommy can get everything out."  I've actually heard her tell friends that Mommy can get anything out.  It's sort of funny, but she finds a lot of comfort in my washing ability.  Metaphorically speaking, she is saying, "When things get messy in my life, Mommy can handle it."  And that is true.  This little one's question behind her words and actions is exactly that -- can Mommy handle me?  I can.  Because Jesus has overcome the world.  All I have to do is tap into him.  My brother-in-law used to eat so much Domino's pizza that his college roommates would tease him that he had the "red phone" with a direct connection to the local Domino's in their town.  All he had to do was pick up that phone, and poof!  Pizza.  Well, I gotta pick up that red phone, and poof, invite the Prince who has already come. 

I am passionate about this movement we are starting.  It is desperately needed by all of those around us, and perhaps it is us who need it most.  It is what I think about when I'm stirring the cheese into the mac n' cheese and changing the um-teenth diaper on my little sweet one.  It is always on my mind.  I picture all of us together experiencing Jesus. 

Of course, not just Shabby Mamas, but everyone.  But we will start this new thing.  Because anything new that is birthed comes from Mamas.  I really do think so.  We are all about new beginnings and bringing forth life.  It is in our very nature to bubble over with life, and to nurture it into its full maturity.  God knew what he was doing when he designed mothers.  How we spend our days and minutes must be defined by Jesus, or Love will not get the proper, headlining show.  I am serious, Mamas.  I want to get this thing going.  It is simple. 

I encounter Jesus daily + I am myself in the world = Love rules the world!

And some call me an idealist.  Ha! 

How we spend our days and minutes constitutes the meaning of our lives.  Really.  It's true.  If all I do is get caught up in the mundane of motherhood, how will I ever reflect the Divine?  And here's the thing.  The Divine is in the mundane.  That is the challenge.  And this is what I see missing from "traditional" motherhood -- finding God in the midst of the tedium of motherhood.

What if every single day we woke up and found each other, one Shabby Mama to the other, and shared the ways we found him, saw him, heard him? What if we gave him the first of our thoughts, the first of our attention and let him be the Star of our daily show?  What would happen if we lived one moment to the next, anticipating where we might discover him? 

I can tell you exactly what would happen.  Love would save the day. 

Suddenly, our hearts have been marinated in the juices of Jesus, and just as a grilled steak emanates its sweet and spicy marinade as it cooks, we radiate Love in the world as, ahem, juicy steaks.  Ok...bad metaphor.  We have already established this: We can't give away what we don't have for ourselves.  This is the very purpose for which we are created.  To reflect his glory and likeness, not necessarily in show-stopping ways that make the local news (although I'm not crossing that off the list), but in small, everyday ways that make a difference in one heart at a time.  This is the seed-planting time prior to the big harvest, Mamas.  We each have to do our part.  One heart at a time. 

My friend Harper (Not her real name, but I LOVE it, so Harper it is) got me inspired yesterday.  She absolutely exudes the love of God.  Her beauty is not physical; it is much, much deeper.  It is a soul beauty that develops when one sits in the presence of the God for hours and hours throughout life.  It is timeless, unchanging, and I swear if it had a fragrance, it would be the sweetest-smelling perfume and would fly off the shelves.  But that's precisely the point -- you could never buy it because it comes from within.  And more specifically, it comes from dwelling with the Divine more than the circumstances we live in.  It exudes life because it comes from the One who created life and lavishes it upon us.  Just sitting around her makes you aware of the entirety of the Gospel story -- the mind-bending grace that found us in our dirty puddle.  Washed, whole, and clean.  Unreal.  A true fairy tale.  And all she was doing was being herself. 

So, today I challenge you.  I challenge us.  Let's become a group of mothers with a capital M, who birth this Man called Love into being all around us.  I do want it to be on the news stations every night -- testimonies of the Love that Jesus calls us to be in this world.  I want it to be so radical and so tangible that everyone starts talking about it.  I am not talking about being "religious," I am challenging us to fall deeply in love with him and to simply live out of that Love.  He will do the rest. 

Let's expect him, anticipate him, marvel at his creativity, laugh at his wit, share in his dreams, and become his Best Friend.  Let's invite him to be the focus of our day, our week, our life.  Let's be a community of women who adore him and share how he has been present that day.  From the littlest ways to the biggest.  It starts with us.  One day at a time.  One beating heart at a time.  We will get there.  Because Love will save the day.