Only a week or so removed from Christmas, all you parents out there can empathize with me on one thing. Unclear instructions. I’m telling you, some of the toys for kiddos these days are impossible to put together, AND I suspect there are some people at the manufacturers having fun with us parental units by making the instructions really challenging to follow, just to see us sweat it out.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a toy fall to pieces upon final construction. Or for there to be several “extra” pieces just lying around. Or for some key feature not to work the way it is supposed to work. One time, my toddler just barely escaped being mauled by asphalt as the front wheel of his bicycle suddenly launched from the frame while he was in motion. I’m not good with instructions. And it’s not all my fault! At least I don’t think it is. Please tell me I’m not the only one. 

I also don’t think I’m alone in feeling like I NEED instructions. Want to see me panic? Hand me something semi-complicated to assemble and tell me there are no instructions for it. For the mighty and few out there who are super-duper handy men or women, maybe this doesn’t pertain to you. But us common people depend heavily on instructions. Simple tasks like operating a hotel coffee maker would suddenly become insurmountable obstacles without them. 

I say all that to reference a verse I read this week.

Malachi 3:6&7 – For I am the Lord, I do not change. Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord. But you said, In what way shall we return?

I highlighted that last part because that’s where it got interesting. God basically says we should have been harshly punished years upon years ago for distancing ourselves from Him and not being obedient. He then says that because He is God, all we have to do is return to Him and He will return to us. It’s that easy to make amends. And what do we say back? We want instructions. We want it mapped out. Specifically and simply (sorry, now I am reading between the lines…probably why I’m not good with instructions anyway).

I’m convinced there is no one way. I’ve written about this before. Our path to God is highly personalized. I do believe we all start with some simple and common steps in that journey, but the instruction manual will quickly fail us if we’re trying to turn it into 6 easy steps for putting our relationship with God back together. We’ll be left with spare parts that don’t fit, or even worse, be completely non-functioning. Trust me, that is a dangerous place to be, whether you are a toddler on a defective bike or a Christian on a spiritual journey.