“Floppity hops from here to there,
Searching for eggs without a care,
Lavender coat from head to toe,
All dressed up and no where to go.”
I memorized those lines as a little girl. They were printed inside the little tag on my prized Beanie Baby bunny, the first I ever got. Floppity was later joined by a sweet hippo named Happy (with matching lavender coat), a few miniature beanies from McDonald’s happy meals, and a knock-off brand Moose, whose name I no longer recall.
About this Floppity, did she find contentment in her search? Were life’s answers found on those egg hunts? Did she ever resent having very little purpose despite her apparent preparedness?
Have you ever felt ready for something…ready for a new job, a committed relationship, a diagnosis, or a break in circumstances…only to find yourself left waiting and wanting.
Hebrews 4:15 & 16 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Jesus was right there with all the “Floppity-s” of the world. Did he make plans for dinner with a friend, only to be stood up; did he feel restless in his wait to be a full-time preacher…yet faithful with chisel in hand, fashioning towel racks and table tops for others’ homes?
Surely He felt the throbbing ache of the most undeserved rejections this Earth has known.
“He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.” ~Isaiah 53:3-5
We’ve all been there. Standing at the door, dressed in what we deem our finest, and then the call doesn’t come as we had hoped. The meal and candles lose their appeal while waiting for a spouse, held up at work; you sacrifice the new blouse you’ve needed in order to buy Johnny gym shoes…only to be told they’re the “wrong” brand. Maybe you lend money to a friend or brother and later find it was blown on a weekend of partying and gambling that he won’t even remember. Perhaps you were overlooked for a promotion because your numbers were less impressive than those your co-worker botched in order to cover for his lengthy breaks and secret texting sessions on the job.
Whatever our experiences, we can know we aren’t alone in them. You remember Chris on the bus? He’s lived for years in the shadow of his older brother, trying desperately to make his father proud. And Shaquita? She comes home from school everyday to clean up the messes of her crying baby sister and half-tanked mother. You know the co-worker who whines in the cubby adjacent to yours? She’s not naïve to the reasons behind her husband’s frequent absences; she’s been traded in for a newer model, and she cries herself to sleep each night in a cold bed, separate from his.
Where do you find peace? Or, rather, have you found any peace at all? It isn’t found in a bulging wallet or in “ideal” circumstances. I’ve met people who have neither luxury yet live joyfully knowing Jesus died, rose, and gives life to those who seek and trust in Him. Forever changed by grace. He invites you to accept that same grace. Will you trust Him?
“Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
~Romans 5:1
“Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.” ~John 20:29
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