His ability, not mine

My little Graham is here to visit one last time before I go to Africa! I think he was every bit as excited to come as we all were to have him. Like most almost-four-year-olds, he constantly wants to be played with. I'm pretty sure I heard the words, "Hey Faith, wanna play cars with me?" at least 10 times yesterday. And I don't mind at all! I want to spend every possible moment with him while he's here.

At one point yesterday when we were playing, we started to toss a ball back and forth. It made me laugh, because every time he threw it, he threw it high and hard, and I had to stretch up and do my best to catch the ball, but when I "threw" it back to him, he would cup his little hands together and I would gently toss it so it would land right in his hands. Even though I gave him high fives and told him what an awesome job he did, I laughed because of how much the game depended entirely on my ability to catch and throw well, not his. 

It immediately brought to mind my relationship with Christ. I don't think we will ever know, at least until eternity, how much everything in which we succeeded or did well in life depended entirely on God's ability, and not ours. I get so caught up in trying to do my best for Him, trying never to Him down, when all along, everything is in His hands. It's based on His ability, not mine.
I'm not trying to underestimate or undervalue striving to please God, but in the end, we're not perfect, and we won't be until He comes again and sets everything right. In the meantime, relax. He's got this. You can (figuratively) throw the ball as high and hard as possible, and He will catch it and gently toss it back to you.