Backup Plans

Brandon is not a big fan of water. Up until about a month ago, bathtime was an excruciating experience for anyone within earshot! Even the thought of a drop of water in Brandon's eyes made him scream in a way that would get DHS called if we lived in a subdivision! He has not wanted to get in the pool at my parents' house, content to sit nearby in the little plastic pool with Camryn. We were swimming at my parents' house a few weeks ago, and Brandon decided he was ready to venture into the big pool. So, understandably, we put a one-piece swim suit with a built-in life jacket on him. Then, he wanted arm floaties. Then, he wanted to sit in an inflatable ring. Then, he wanted to float, in all of this gear, on top of an air mattress.

He is a man with a Backup Plan -- or three!

I was thinking about that when I read an excerpt from a book we've been studying in our life group called Crazy Love. The author writes, "I wrote this book because much of our talk doesn't match our lives. We say things like, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,' and 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart.' Then, we live and plan like we don't believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises."

We are generally a people of "Backup Plans," much like Brandon had himself layered up in the pool. As Brandon's mom, standing three inches from the lad telling him to "Trust me!" it seemed ridiculous to me for him to feel the need to nearly suffocate himself in stuff that probably wouldn't save him anyway.

Our backup plans mostly rely on our own strength, our own abilities, our own understanding. When we stop and think about that, that is such a Backward Backup idea. I can imagine God standing alongside of us, saying "Trust me -- and take all that silly stuff off!"