Day 8: Swaddling Cloths (God Trusts You)

Completely Unprepared + Unqualified

My whole world changed on the 14th of February, 2022. (Valentine's Day - I know, cute. Not for the reasons you might think, though.) It was the day that God took one little image I'd drawn, of Jesus washing the feet of His beloved, a bride, and sent it around the world. I woke up that morning with no idea that God had made that image go viral overnight, and no clue of what would follow. Over the coming weeks, as the Footwashing Series grew, the requests for copies of the artwork poured in. I couldn't keep up with the hundreds of orders which were coming through, and so within the space of a few weeks, I not only became a creative content creator full-time, but I also became a business owner and employed multiple staff to help. And I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I wanted to honour what God was doing, say yes, and stay open to what He had planned, but I also had zero qualifications in art or business. I was totally reliant on the Holy Spirit for wisdom about what to do, from how to be a good boss through to what to draw or how many copies or the artwork to order. I had to trust that God knew what He was doing when He gave me this creative ministry-business, and just do my best to be a good steward of what He had entrusted to me.

Mary, Joseph + Baby Jesus

If that's how I felt being entrusted with a small business, imagine how Mary and Joseph felt being entrusted with baby Jesus. If it were me, I would have been wondering things like, 'How soon do we put Him into Torah classes? Will we need to discipline Him - and if so, how do we dare discipline God Himself? If He has a bad day as a toddler, will He accidentally smoke us with lightning?' 😆 There isn't exactly a handbook on how to raise the Son of God.

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger..." (Lk 2:7)

I didn't know how to run a business, or have employees, or have a public ministry. When I think about the magnitude of what that all entails, it's overwhelming - even knowing God has given it to me. But if I concentrate on just doing the first, good, wise thing - I can do that.

There's such a simple note in scripture, about the first thing Mary did to care for Jesus - she wrapped Him in swaddling cloths. I doubt she had a strategy for how to raise Him for His earthly life - but she just did the first good thing she knew how to do.

Your Life Today

Maybe you feel like God is giving you a dream, or even a reality right now, for something that feels way too huge to handle. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by your life and the things (or people) God is entrusting you to care for. But what is simply the first good things you can do today with what God is putting in your hands?