The Pelicano was once the most unwanted ship in the world. For over two years it floated on the open seas. It could be called a Flying Dutchman of the 20th century. No port would accept it.
I’ve been there. Four kids running around the house. The noise – the chaos – the demands. In our home I was the self-assigned homework-helper, school-chauffeur, game-player and floor-wrestler. I understand busy. Deadlines. Meetings. And being tired. Yet in all of it – I committed to always being intentional and available for our kids.
My family wasn’t a perfect one. (I’m certain my dad and mom would say the same.) But they did make sure it was extremely purposeful. My parents worked hard to intentionally and deliberately create an environment in which they could transfer to my siblings and me the principles they believed.
Not long ago, a friend of mine told me he bought a new home. Now I obviously didn’t tell him this, but the truth is that my friend didn’t really own “his” house. That’s because the title to the home he claimed to own was actually in the possession of the bank. And it’s not until he paid off his mortgage that he would actually own the house.
Frequently throughout the Bible we will come across stories of individuals, men and women, who failed, sinned or just plain blew it. These are men and women whose actions, or reactions, were not consistent with God’s character. Whom God met in the midst of their issues and their mess, and whom God still used.