Barbies In My Bathtub

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7, NLT

Most every day ends with a relaxing soak in my bathtub. It is my way of winding down, being by myself to think and pray, and to let go of the tension of the day. Not only am I protective of my time to relax, but I am protective of the actual tub itself. As a mother, so many things are not my own. I can't sit down to watch the news without someone asking to watch Yo Gabba Gabba or Max and Ruby. I recently got a new phone, and my daughters ask me over and over if they can play games on it. And after having my third baby, I don't recognize my body anymore and wish I could have younger version back. But I have my bathtub.

Or HAD my bathtub.

After we moved into our new house, my girls repeatedly asked me if they could take a bath in my tub, which is one of those big, soaking tubs. I always said no because it was mine--the last thing I didn't have to share with anyone. I was determined to protect my tub from a little girl invasion. But in one weak moment, I allowed them to use it, and now the tub is no longer mine. There are Barbies and rubber duckies and Dora dolls surrounding my tub. I let them in and they have taken over.

I tried to control the one thing that I didn't want to share with anyone. The tub was mine and no one was getting in. Isn't that how our relationship with God can be sometimes? We have one (or sometimes more) area of our lives that we don't want God anywhere near. Maybe it is too painful. Maybe it is too embarrassing. Maybe we aren't ready to deal with it. Or maybe we think we can handle it on our own.

Whatever the case may be, God wants all of you. He wants to heal the places that hurt. He wants to repair the brokenness and He wants to shed light on the darkness. Instead of relying on ourselves and laying claim to certain territories in our lives, God wants us to lay those at His feet and ask him to enter.

God probably won't leave Barbies all over your bathtub, but I promise that He will leave hope and grace and love and peace . . . and you will never be the same!

Dear God, Sometimes I try to control areas of my life and don't let you in. But I am trusting you and asking you to overwhelm me with your love and grace. Help me to trust you more each day and to allow you into all areas of my life . . . even the ones I don't want anyone to see.