After my son left home for the first time, I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I walked around like I was in a fog, unsure of what to do or how to feel.  Should I text him or give him space?  Should I reach out or wait for him to contact me? What should I do with this extra time I had on my hands?

Our youngest daughter was the only child left at home, so I found myself all over her.  What once was multi-tasking between two children and tending to both their needs, now meant I could focus all of my attention on her.  But, in doing so, Grace shared with me that she felt smothered.  My first child was gone, so all of my energy was on her, which I thought would be appreciated.  Instead, she felt overwhelmed by my constant presence and trying to connect with her.  She enjoyed her space and alone time, and all I was doing was crowding it. 

With extra time on my hands, I could now invest solely on Grace, which wasn’t a bad thing, intentionally.  However, what I found was that I was out of alignment with God.  All of my energy that I was putting into Grace was actually draining her.  So, what better way to spend that extra energy and time, but investing that into my relationship with God?  In doing so, the fruit of that would then trickle down to being a better wife and mother.  In prayer to Him, in learning His Word, and growing closer to Him, meant I could better prioritize my time and know the best way to approach my daughter and my son, who was halfway around the world, to be there in the way they desired.  I was wanting to control the anxiety I was having about my “loss” of Nick and then, not realizing it, burdening Grace unconsciously.  What I needed was an alignment.

Similar to when our cars are out of alignment, my heart was out of alignment with God.  Have you noticed that when your car is out of alignment it pulls to one side and is off center even though the car is pointed straight? Poor car alignment can wreak havoc on your vehicle and cause other problems to arise.  Worst of all, it increases the risk of an accident.  Likewise, if our faith is out of alignment with God’s, we can start to veer the wrong way.  It gets more difficult to steer and we have to work harder to get the car back on track.  It takes a trained mechanic to fix the problem, just like it takes the Lord to fix our hearts.  Alignment by God is the place where He begins to put things in order (like putting our car back to its original state in order to run properly).  By coming into agreement with God, we focus on what He desires for the life He has created for us, and not trying to frivolously and haphazardly control what we think, or the world thinks, we should grasp onto.  We must repent any sin that has created this misalignment (pride, jealousy, anger, greed) and then submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit.  Pray and allow the Holy Spirit to redirect our steps and to renew our minds to what the truth is, not just what we are feeling in the moment.  Psalm 143:10 says “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.  May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” 

When we align with God, the best possible outcomes happen.  When we non-align with Him, an accident is just waiting to occur.  So, go to the best mechanic around, the Lord, and get an alignment.  It’s free, and it’s freeing!  Plus, it saves so much further adjustment and repairs in the future.  If you feel you are at risk with poor alignment, surrender it all to Him and get back on track.  You will be glad that you did.