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My husband has worked in Christian camping long enough that the mere mention of these little beasties causes him to shudder. Real live bedbugs are a difficult nuisance to get rid of and anyone in the hospitality industry does their best to keep them away. Luckily, it was only a rare occasion in the distant past that they showed up and were dealt with quickly.

However, we do have some other bedbugs that have been a little more difficult to eradicate. These have been hanging around for about twenty-one years now. In spite of our best efforts, every now and then they sneak into our bed. These guys aren’t tiny either. They are rather large with pointy elbows and legs that kick. The funny thing is that they only get into our bed when we are in it.

I am a very active person and even though I enjoy my sleep, the only time I am in my bed during the day is if I am sick. As soon as I lay down though, no matter how sick I may be, here come the bedbugs! They snuggle right in, which, if I am being honest, does cheer me up. Even though I have had a steady parade of these for all these years, I do know it will someday come to an end. My little bedbugs are growing up quickly and one of these days will begin having little bedbugs of their own.

The days of parenting, as difficult as they have been and still are, are precious. We are building memories with our children that will last a lifetime. I remember when I was a little girl, I would spend the night with my grandparents occasionally. When it was time for bed, we had an ongoing competition with my Grandpa to see which one of us would say the time-honored phrase first, “Good night, sleep tight…don’t let the bedbugs bite!” He has been gone for years, but it is those types of fun memories that live on.

For now I need to be patient with my little bedbugs, even when I don’t feel well. The time passes quickly, but the memories last forever. I want those memories to be sweet and to carry into my children’s own families. And maybe someday I will have grand-bedbugs to tell, “Good night, sleep tight…don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

When my children were little, this was probably their least favorite thing to be told. Actually, my younger children still hate to hear this. However, sometimes it is the best solution to a childish meltdown. For my nine year old, it is almost a magic cure. Much like his older brother at his age, an hour in his room alone can work wonders.

I know we often hear of the dichotomy between being a child and an adult. In the case of being sent to your room, this is very true. I would love to be sent to my room every now and then–and I need to be sometimes! There are times when I have meltdowns too.

The truth is, these would be perfect times for me to take a minute, go to my room and pray. My adult meltdowns usually stem from trying to take on too much. I get bogged down trying to carry things that God never meant for me to carry alone. A few minutes in prayer help me calm down and focus on my relationship with Him. He reminds me that I am never alone and that the burden He gives me is light because He is right by my side carrying it.

I have to be honest, all of this is a lot easier said than done. This summer it has seemed like heavy burdens have been piling on one after another. I know that it isn’t just me either, a lot of people I know are going through extremely difficult things. One of the things I love about a relationship with Jesus is that I can be absolutely real with Him about how I am feeling, and this summer it seems I have run the gamut of feelings! I have been angry, sad, scared, relieved, anxious, happy and even a little depressed. But through all of this, Jesus has never left me alone, even when I have felt alone. I have encouraged my children in this also, that when they feel like they are alone in their rooms, Jesus is actually right there with them.

If you have been feeling overwhelmed too, may I suggest you go to your room? Your Heavenly Father is just waiting to spend some time with you. He is ready to hear all about how you are feeling and listen to all your concerns. He would love to come alongside you and carry the burdens you were never meant to carry.

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father.” Matthew 6:6a

My husband and I were blessed recently to have a meal at an upscale restaurant on the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. I admit that I thought twice about what I would wear and it may have crossed my mind to wonder whether I would fit in at such a place. I figured most of the people there would be worth far more than we are. However, I was not prepared to see a princess!

I first spotted her on the dining terrace. She was easy to notice in her glimmering princess dress. Her entourage were dressed quite casually by comparison. She seemed to be enjoying her meal immensely, but she soon disappeared. She reappeared below the terrace, headed for the water. She wisely held up her dress before wading in, squealing at the cold water as all four year old princesses do.

I couldn’t help but admire how she brightened everyone’s day, just by being herself. I do not know if she had agonized over her outfit as I had done, but my suspicion is that she had simply wanted to look pretty and wore her favorite dress. I know for sure that she did not worry about what anyone else thought of her as she enjoyed her day. She was able to blissfully be herself, not worried in the slightest about who might be around her. She definitely had not worried about her worth in comparison with the other diners.

My friend and I have talked about this several times, about how lovely it would be to get up in the morning, put on our favorite princess dress and blissfully go about our day not worrying about whether we are fitting in or getting it all “right”. It is too easy to feel constrained by our culture or even by our own expectations of ourselves.

The truth is that God made each one of us special and unique. He designed us to add something to the world that no other human in history could do. And, He delights in us as we do it! Our worth is found in Him, not in our status or bank account. Instead of spending any more time worrying about how others perceive me or if I am pleasing the right people, I want to spend more time talking with Him and finding out His plan for me. I want to delight in His love for me and twirl through my days knowing that I am His princess and that is all that matters!

“She is worth far more than rubies.” Proverbs 31:10b

My children are extremely adept at cleaning a kitchen without actually cleaning it. They will assure me that they did a good job and that all the dishes have been washed and yet, when I go to check I inevitably find dishes all over the kitchen.

Now the trick is, these dishes are not sitting in the middle of the counter or in the sink. They are cleverly pushed into corners or left on the back of the stove or camouflaged next to the napkin holder on the table. By the time I go around gathering the “hidden” dishes, there is another sink-full to wash.

I am usually met with what appears to be genuine dismay on the part of the dish washer who insists that they thoroughly checked the kitchen. I suppose they are implying that I magically caused these dishes to appear out of thin air. Let’s be honest, if I had those kind of powers I am sure I would not use them to create dirty dishes!

As I was on another of these dish gathering missions, it got me to thinking about how I too tend to push unwanted things to the corners of my life. Just like my kids, I don’t exactly hide these issues, but I am not overly anxious to confront them either. It usually takes God pulling these issues from the corners and telling me it is time to take a good look at them to get me to work on them.

It is weird, but once I deal with these not-so-hidden issues, I feel better. Much better in fact, than when I was putting energy into keeping them at bay. The same principle I try to teach my kids about being thorough in the kitchen works in my personal life too. It is much easier to deal with something as soon as possible than it is to let it molder in the corners! This is probably what Jesus was trying to convey when He taught about truth. There is cleansing power in allowing truth to shine into even the dark corners of our souls. Just as I want my whole kitchen to be clean, God want our whole lives to be healed and transformed.

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” John 8:31-32

As my youngest staggered into my room the other morning and assumed her usual snuggle position on my lap, I began thinking about all the little traditions that make a family, a family. There are so many little things that tie us together, from the way my daughter has always laid a certain direction for her snuggles, to where each of us sits at the dinner table.

When we talk about family traditions, most of us think about how our family celebrates holidays and other special days of the year. While those are nice, they are not really what holds us together day to day. It is the much smaller things, just like all the little knots holding a tied-quilt together.

Even though people in a family may share a similar history or genetics, they usually have very different personalities. Just as a quilt would be boring with only one color of fabric, a family would be boring if everyone was the same. God designs each of our families with the personalities He wants in them. Some of us may be solid color quilt blocks and some of us like the quilt above, may be zebra striped! When we are bonded together with all of our unique gifts and quirks, we turn into something more than we can be on our own.

It is the same with our larger family of brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all unique and special on our own, but when we become unified through the ties of love that Jesus taught, we become so much more. This summer my church has been going through the book of Colossians. In chapter three, Paul tells us specifically how to live together as the family of God. He uses the image of our bodies instead of a quilt, but the idea is the same. We have one body, but many different members. In verses twelve through seventeen, he lists out all of the “ties” that can bind us together in unity. He also says to put on love over all of these. Using the image of the quilt again, I picture the love that he is talking about as the warmth that a well-made quilt provides.

I am grateful for all the little ways my family is tied together from the quirky: we have to use the same spoon to stir the cheese into the macaroni noodles every time; to the sweet: my younger children sound like the Waltons going to bed. I pray that as the larger family of God, we can continue to work toward that bond of unity by tying ourselves together with all the virtues listed in Colossians and covering them all over with love.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14

With so many people in our house, we have to label cups with each person’s name, otherwise we could dirty an untold number of cups every single day. Recently, my youngest daughter was lining everyone’s cup up in order on the counter. She was very proud of herself and wanted to read all the names to me. I assumed she would start oldest to youngest, but I was mistaken. She started with the most important person, herself, and went youngest to oldest!

Now being the youngest of such a large family, she is naturally a little spoiled. By the time she came around she was surrounded by doting siblings. Unfortunately, this has led to a few issues that we need to work on with her, such as not always putting herself first. However, the more I though about it, the more I realized that this is something most of us do whether we are the youngest in our family or not.

There are not too many humans who would naturally put others before themselves without first being taught the concept. Our natural tendency is to look out for number one. Even when we know better, it is sometimes hard to put others first, especially when that other is someone we don’t even particularly like.

Our culture screams at us to focus on ourselves. We are told we are worth it and we deserve it. We chase “likes” and followers. We post selfies. This is why Jesus’ teaching on the subject can seem so startling. Not only is His teaching contrary to our nature, it is counter-cultural as well.

It turns out that this is nothing new, the culture of Jesus’ day had the same problems going on, just with less technology. In a conversation with His disciples Jesus revealed how they needed to live, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)

This may be a difficult teaching for some of us, my daughter included. However, when we follow Jesus’ advice there are unexpected results. We actually can find joy in serving others and more peace. Another time when He was teaching He also said, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Talk about a surprising, counter-cultural result!