Where Does Our Help Come From?

My kids don’t ever flush the toilet. Like, ever…pee, poop…doesn’t matter. Whoever goes to relieve themselves next gets to see it, holler how gross it is, and then do the exact same thing. Amid the parenting world of correction and discipline lives this constant aspect of potty training that I am pretty sure started because when they were little we told them not to flush pee at night because there has always been a baby we were afraid to wake. They won’t take other principles we teach and apply them across all areas, but they took this one thing, don’t flush pee at night, and applied it across the board!

All that to tell you, this morning, as I happened upon a full, unflushed, toilet, I couldn’t help but notice the amount of toilet paper in there, along with a barely used Kleenex in the trash. It prompted me to have a talk with the kids about their wasteful use of paper products during the only time I recall in my lifetime that such products are in short supply and high demand. Whether or not there is actually a shortage, whether or not people are feeding the fear, or whether there is a legitimate reason for the stockpiling of toilet paper, the fact remains, our local Sam’s Club, Walmart and Kroger have been out, completely, of toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and Kleenex (not to mention the food aisles stripped bare) the last couple of days that Scott stopped to buy toilet paper because we are, in fact, low and have six active toilet poopers, and two frequent female pee-ers in our house. We need toilet paper, but I digress….

As I was attempting to express to them that waste is bad at any time, it is especially irresponsible during a shortage and that we all needed to do better to only use what we need, not the big cushy wad that feels best to our tush and gives us the false sense of security that no particles of poop will get through if we just use enough paper, I could see the questions building:

What is a shortage?

Can’t Dad just buy more?

What will we use if we run out?

I had to stop them before the point was lost, but in the midst of trying to explain to my children, who have never had to go without a necessity, that none of us are promised not only tomorrow, but we are not promised that our way of life would always be a comfortable one. Don’t hear me say our children get all they ever want…they don’t. But they do have a warm bed, clothes that fit, food three times a day, hot water and plenty of toilet paper that never runs out because their Dad is on the ball with Sam’s online orders that never fail to keep our shelves stocked…..until now.

I went on to remind them of the Great Depression and how Gram talked about her life as a 4-10 year-old having very little, taking nothing for granted, and how that time shaped her life in always making the most of all she had, scraping every last drop from food containers and reusing a Kleenex until it was falling apart. I am NOT attempting to compare what we are currently going through to the Great Depression, but I am saying, we are a (first world) generation, even those who struggle to make ends meet, who don’t know how to go without. I don’t mean without the latest iPhone, or trendy home décor. I mean toilet paper, meat, cheeses, bottled water…..no matter the reason these shelves are empty, or when they will be restocked; when they ARE empty, even temporarily, we are at a loss, both literal, and emotional, with this idea that we might have to go without. That our daily comforts, diets, lives and what makes them comfortable, might be in jeopardy. And hilariously, we respond exactly as our kids do when something makes them uncomfortable...we either get mad or we make a joke of it, hence all the memes poking fun, and angry posts claiming fear mongering, lies, political agendas and everything in between. We hear facts and opinions from every direction and have no idea who to listen to…who has our best interest in mind as a society, or who has their political agenda in mind…who is seeking to protect lives, or who is trying to sell airtime. We have no idea who to trust, or who we can depend on. We have no idea where our confidence lies.

And here in lies the point of this blog post….

We have put our faith, hope, trust, and comfort in opinions, fancy words, experts, politicians, and unlimited supplies of toilet paper, instead of in the only One who was and is and is to come (Rev 1:8). Even those who trust in Jesus Christ, we are conditioned to this idea that our way of life is secure. Friends, our only security comes from the love of a Father who sent his Son to die for you and me.

If this pandemic blows over with little effect on our lives you will hear that it’s because it was all a lie, you will hear that it’s because life was cancelled, and our experts were right, you will hear of all the inconveniences and lives affected by the loss of work and income. But if they did nothing and we had a significant loss of life in America you would hear how our government didn’t do enough. But either way, no matter what happens, if you’re like me, you are confident life will get back to normal at some point, shelves will be stocked, and we can all go back to over-using toilet paper.

But…..what if it doesn’t?

Our God is so good and so worthy of our love and praise, but not because of what we have. He was a good God the day his Son was born to a virgin girl. He was a good God the day Jesus was crucified and the day He rose from the grave. He was a good God during the Great Depression. And He’s a good God today, whether the COVID scare is real, an overdramatized fear, whether life goes back to the way it was, and even if it doesn’t.

HE, the Creator, the Father, the Author and Perfecter of our salvation, our Savior, HE is where our faith, hope, trust and comfort lie. In HIM is the only place we have security no matter what the day brings.

Isaiah 30:15 , For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning  and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Friends, during this time, ask yourself where your hope rests. Is it the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, or the shifting sands of the world around us?

Be safe, be well, wash your hands! Love,

Jules