Be Approachable

I cannot imagine that anyone is a fan of washing windows.
Fan or not, it needs to be done.
Sometimes even when the windows are clean, they still look dirty.
Sometimes the outside has splotches of hard water stains that refuse to disappear.

Windowpanes that should be transparent have watermarks that refuse to go away.
Lack of transparency may be frustrating when it comes to window washing.
Lack of transparency is equally frustrating when it comes to real life.
Some wear and tear marks are a good thing.

A young mother was struggling with her shopping excursion.
Three little girls were shopping with her and she looked like she had seen better days.
What would have taken her a short time all by herself was taking far longer today.
She was being mom, referee, and errand runner all in one.

Just when she sent her oldest off to the next aisle to get paper towels, it began.
One little girl was sitting in the shopping cart, fingering all the items around her.
The toddler was sitting in the seat facing her mother.
A blood-curdling scream sent shock waves around the whole store.

It seems as if the toddler was holding the last item the mother chose to buy.
The middle daughter, thinking she was helping, took the item to add it to the cart.
The oldest came back with the paper towels just in time to have the toddler grab them.
The mother tried to do damage control among the three girls.

In the scheme of things, it was not a big deal.
However, in public, the smallest things are exacerbated.
Perhaps mothers are embarrassed.
Perhaps it is the stares of others that cause them to feel insecure about their parenting.

A woman in a tennis outfit walked by and looked at the mother with disdain.
An older woman walked by and did the horrid, Tsk, Tsk, Tsk sound with her tongue.
Another mother with children of her own passed by while her children pointed.
It wasn’t until minutes later, the whole situation was redeemed.

A woman with her own shopping cart stopped next to the frazzled mom.
She had many items in her cart but she was shopping alone.
Are you OK? She sweetly asked the other mother.
I really don’t know, was her honest reply.

You know, I remember days like this.
Days when you wonder if you are doing anything right as a mother.
Really? The frazzled mom asked, knowing at that moment someone understood her.
Oh my goodness, there was the time when gum got stuck in my daughter’s hair…

Another scream from the seat in front protesting her inability to hold the paper towels.
Then there was the time when my son got lost underneath the clothes rack.
There was the day when I walked out with things under my cart that I didn’t pay for.
You DO understand, the frazzled mother said with a sigh.

I do, the woman said touching the crying child on the head.
The crying little girl saw a bracelet on the woman’s arm that intrigued her.
The woman let her spin it around while it was still on her arm.
Does it get better? The frazzled mom asked with tears in her eyes.

Yes, it does; it is the most rewarding job you will ever do, but it is the hardest.
We have all been there; you are not alone.
We have all had horrible days when bedtime can’t come soon enough.
Really, the woman said touching the mom’s arm; even if some mothers never admit it.

You are doing a good job; the woman said looking into the mother’s eyes.
Those last words resonated with the frazzled mother’s heart.
Someone understood her; someone struggled just like her.
Someone struggled just like her and survived.

The frazzled mother gave the woman a spontaneous hug.
The little girl had stopped crying and was pointing to an overhead sign.
The oldest was asking for the next item that she could go get by herself.
The one in the shopping cart was sorting their purchases into piles.

Thank you, the mother said wiping a tear that was escaping from the corner of her eye.
I’m so glad that someone else doesn’t have it all together.

I thought of her remark.
I’m so glad that someone else doesn’t have it all together.
I realized that it is all about transparency.
It was like my clean windows with the stubborn watermarks.

We need to be approachable.
We do others a disservice when we pretend that we have it all together.
It is a facade that helps no one.
It is in the scars and the stains, the wear and the tear, that we are most used by God.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…(Romans 12:3)

How can they see how much they need God if we act as if we can do this all by ourselves?
How can they see the difference in our lives because of Him, if they don’t see our scars?
Our sins have been redeemed, if we are in Christ.
Yet we live as if our life is perfect at all times.

We are unapproachable Christians.
We are missing a great Gospel opportunity when we pretend that we have it all together.
We are redeemed from what?
We are saved from what?

Those questions need to be answered if they are to see our salvation lived out.
We don’t need redemption if we are perfect.
We don’t need a Savior when we can do our own saving.
The attitude of, we’ve got this, thank you very much, keeps others at a distance.

Let others see your scars.
You’ve got them.
Let others know the reason you are still standing.
The Reason, the Way, the Hope, the Life.

Jesus.

Be approachable.
Be transparent.
Be honest.
Give God the Glory.