Naked at Prater’s Mill

Gò0dNews for Parents

Naked at Prater’s Mill

by Monica Gambrell

When I had my first child in 1985, the fabulous Prater’s Mill Arts and Crafts Festival was happening the first weekend of every May and October. People in Dalton, Georgia, know all about it, and it has always been one of my favorite things to take part in. Every mother knows that with the first child, things are different than they are for subsequent children. I remember being very diligent to pack every possible thing that might be needed into that huge diaper bag before heading out. Rachel had been born in February, so she was only about three months old for this outing. I knew it would be challenging to tackle Prater’s Mill with an infant, but I felt I had prepared well. I had nursed Rachel before we got to the admission gate and was in great anticipation of what I knew would be a fun-filled day. Let’s just say that things didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned.

I had packed extra changing pads, extra burp cloths, twice as many diapers as needed, and four extra changes of clothes… of course, I was ready, right? Ummm, guess not. Rachel was the poopiest baby I had ever heard of, and she seemed to be on overdrive that day. It was hotter than the normal May day in Georgia, and that didn’t help matters. Normally, I would have stayed from midmorning until just before dinner, enjoying the wares of craftsmen from around the country, the old grist mill, and some amazing food vendors. But the unexpected challenges of meeting Rachel’s needs cut things short. I had literally been through every diaper and every outfit that had been packed in only a few short hours. Rachel left there in my arms naked and wrapped in the last clean changing pad. Whew! I never tried that again!

Someone once said that one of the only constants we can count on is change itself. How true! And how strange! You know the old saying, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men…” (from a poem by Robert Burns). Things sometimes go topsy-turvy. How do you and I deal with things when they go awry? How should we? It depends. Do we believe that God is God? In other words, do you believe that He has it all under control? You see, if He is God, then that demands and necessitates that He is in control at all times, and of all things. If God is in control, why fret when things go in a completely unexpected direction? Whether we acknowledge it or not, absolutely nothing ever takes God by surprise. Nothing! Not even when everyone is staring at my poop-crusted, stinky-hot, naked baby on the way out of a crowd of people probably judging me. Not even then.

“…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Father God, our circumstances may sometimes disappoint us—but hope in You never disappoints. You are more constant than the change in our lives because You exist outside the realm of time, space, and matter. You see the beginning from the end; You are never taken by surprise. And because we are Yours, we need not fret about anything.32 // May 2022