Cut the Mustard

Looking Up, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

It's not always easy to "cut the mustard" as a parent and that's been especially true for me lately. Then I discovered Brian Andreas' "Story People" line at a little shop in Salado, TX, where I bought one of his books called "Strange Dreams." But one story called "Quiet Pride" particularly jumped out at me...

"There has never been a day when I have not been proud of you, I said to my son, though some days I'm louder about other stuff so it's easy to miss that."

Ain't it the truth! I love my son and I'm VERY proud of him. But recently he went to live with his mom. I don't like the reason or his mom's response to it, but I am trusting in God to turn it into something good. Along the way, I had to make some decisions that seemed difficult, but I know that they were the right things to do. I have to believe that one day my kids will need someone in their corner who they can count on to do the right thing. Even when it's hard. Even when it costs. When that day comes, I want to be ready.

Jesus said all you need is the faith of a mustard seed. We tend to look at our circumstances and project way down the road. Life feels overwhelming and it appears that a huge amount of faith is needed. But the curious thing about faith is that it can't be used in the past or in the future. God wants us to live in total dependency upon Him, so He only gives us enough faith for today. And how much faith does it really take just to do the next right thing? That's all... just the next right thing. If we're completely honest with ourselves, most of us already know what that "next right thing" is. And if we only need enough faith to do that... well... a mustard seed's worth should be plenty.