The other day, my daughter and I, in our usual rush for school headed out the door and just as I was backing out, my purse fell over from the center console to the backseat floor.  My daughter, who is always so helpful in times like these, reached to grab the purse to pick it up but in my wisdom, I commanded her, “Don’t touch it.”  Just leave it like it is for now.  She emphatically replied, “But mommy I can reach it!”  I was aware of that but I also felt strongly that wasn’t the issue.  I was confident that unless the purse had landed upright, moving it now would create an even greater disaster.  She started to lift the purse anyway but then realized the avalanche of items that were heading out of my purse to the ground so she understood my earlier request and just let it stay like it was.

Life can be this way at times.  As a nurturer and lover of people, I find myself always wanting to fix the broken pieces of friendships and to pick others up when I see them down.  Recently I learned through social media that an acquaintance from years back had had a troubled year.  I considered calling her to see about getting together over lunch or dinner but then I had to consider that with my busy schedule and what she may need based on what she needed in the past, I might best serve her by going to the Father, not just to meet the temporary needs she had but also to completely heal the emotional wounds that she has carried her entire life.

Now that I think about it, two friends came to mind this week and God impressed upon me in both situations to let prayer be the best gift I could offer them. He showed me that He wanted to be the one to pick them up and that me maintaining any other posture but prayer would serve to mess up what He wanted to do in their lives.

It amazes me how God speaks to us and it is so liberating when we get clear that His ways and thoughts will never be like ours.  Family and friends will always encourage you to pick “it” or “them” up and judge you harshly when  you don’t.  God may very well command you to “leave it” or “Let it stay like it is”.