Searching for Glue

We have met so many families who seem to be utilizing "camping" as glue for their family. I would have assumed that the opposite was true. Living in tight walls, no escaping one another, it sounds like a recipe for the family-version of Hunger Games. Who will strike whom first? Survival of the fittest seems more fitting than fitting together to survive.

These families and couples have crossed our paths these past two years with various searchings. Leaving the military, losing jobs, losing loved ones, kids diagnosed with learning disabilities or physical disabilities, struggles with substance abuse, etc. Yet they all have one thing in common-- they are searching for glue to hold their broken hearts together.

Every human being gets here at some point. Some buy motorcycles, others leave jobs. Some meddle in infidelity, others run marathons. Regardless, the moment comes, usually after an extreme emotional loss, an endless stream of monotony, or years of wear and tear at home, and then the urge must be satisfied by letting go of the "American Dream," either by means of detrimental or lifegiving change.

However, the "We need a change," line brings various people to nomadic life. Come to think of it, it's what brought us to the road as well. We needed to "shut down" our proverbial computers. Not because of the aforementioned searching. We had already found the glue, but it wouldn't hold where we were living because God said go somewhere else to strengthen it.

Unfortunately as much as we try to encourage others that Jesus has made the only real difference in our lives, people still look for ways to hold their life together with their own adhesive strength. They want the Gorilla Glue that can be bought in any state, not the rare glue only found in God's love on the cross. This isn't always received well. So we navigate simply by loving, asking questions, encouraging, and sharing our own stories. We hope seeds are planted and pray one day someone else will harvest the truth that can be given in God's love.

Most people don't have the luxury to turn off their computers indefinitely, but they can turn to "sleep mode" for a week, a month, or even a year in order to reset and find out how to let God be their glue. He holds the whole world in His hands after all. Why can't He hold us together too?

~Held together Carefully & Carelessly