It's not about [insert lesser goal here]

My mother is getting a new knee today. I know that the operation is routine and that the recovery is going to be slow, and hopefully sure, but I am so glad that is not where my hope lies. I remember leaving the hospital a while back after a pre-surgery visit with some unbelievers and thinking how awful I would feel if I had to rely on doctors or hospital staff for the well-being of my loved one. That would be terrible for me to leave anyone in the hands of frail, error-prone people. Thanks be to God I can commit the care of my mom into His capable hands rather than someone else's. I know that she loves Him and His Son as well and that in the trying days to come she will rely on His strength and He will speak peace into her heart through it all. But, as significant as a knee replacement and the source of my hope is, that is not the point of my post.

Ultimately my mom's surgery is not about a new knee and a better quality of life. That is a goal for sure, but it is a lesser goal. God has so much more in store for her as she comes through the surgery and recovers. God could regenerate her knee any time He wants to. He could have touched her last night and made her knee ten times stronger than it had ever been in her life. But He didn't. I would like to say that I wish He did. But He didn't. I can't help but think that one of the reasons (out of the 100 million that He has) for not doing that for her is that He wants my mom to go through this so that she can be more like Christ. How is that going to happen? I have no idea. What will He produce in her as a result of this? Again, no clue. But He will not waste this. He will use this. And I have every bit of confidence that she will cooperate with him and be more like His Son as a result.

So what of it? I am not at work today to simple earn a paycheck...although that is a good goal isn't it? I do not go on helping my sons study so that they can merely get a good grade on a test. Don't get me wrong, I like good grades and boys that are getting a little smarter with each passing school day. But there is so much more for me that I can't lose to the lesser goals of money and understanding. God has me where He does to make me more like Christ. And, if I cooperate with Him (He will do it in spite of me too) I will be more like His Son as I get paid and as my sons bring home decent work.

You know, Dad, don't you? You know what I need. You know that I was made for so much more than the best that this world could ever offer. Thank you for loving me in this way.