It certainly wasn’t my plan. I was going to have the perfect little Christian family. I grew up as a preacher’s kid. My parents listened to Focus on the Family on the radio, and I did, too. I went to a Christian high school and eventually Evangel College in Springfield MO. After that, I took my first full time Christian radio job. Oh, I was so sure that I had it all figured out. For the next 15+ years, I couldn’t wait to be on the radio every day to air shows like Focus on the Family and Point of View, and of course, my own radio show where I could be a *true* Christian radio DJ, sharing cool quotes and Bible verses, and best of all, I could act like I had it all together on the radio. I loved to discuss the evil going on in the culture, and things that needed to change. I even had a guy tell me once…“Everything is black and white for you, there is no grey.” (He wasn’t being complimentary.) On the personal side, my wife and I thought we had it all figured out, too. We were raising our kids, believing “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (I thought it was guaranteed to happen.) Then, life took a turn. My 17 year old daughter started getting into all kind of trouble, and eventually got pregnant in high school. My other daughter married a guy, but that quickly ended in divorce. My perfect little Christian family was broken. The truth is…during the process, I was broken. You see, I never did really have it all together. I spent way too much time acting like I had it all together on the radio, and trying to control my teenagers into what I wanted them to be, and not enough time on my knees just pulling close to Jesus. I can honestly say that it is only now that Bible verses like this one really make sense to me… "And then God told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." (2 Cor 12:9-10 The Message) So, I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. These days, I work behind the scenes at WAY-FM, and I can assure you, the people that work here don’t have it all together. I doubt that most of the people that are in your church have it all together either. If your family is messy, and you feel like you don’t fit in with the church crowd…you’re wrong. The Bible is fully of messy families and so is the church. [tweetthis twitter_handles="@wayfmradio"]If your family is messy, and you feel like you don’t fit in with the church crowd…you’re wrong.[/tweetthis] This recent photo of my version of Modern Family might be the new normal. And it’s OK. God is working in us. "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me." (Romans 15:30) [ts_fab authorid="121" tabs="bio,twitter,latest_posts"]