This last weekend, we traveled to Eugene to see my mom and my daughters packed their own bags. My husband quizzed them before we got into the car about what they had packed. He said, “Did you bring extra clothes?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Did you bring pajamas? They said, “Yes.” He said, “Did you bring underpants?” They said, “Yes.” While my youngest had given all the correct answers, she had actually only packed her travel bag with stuffed animals and toys. Not even a sock had made it.

In the end, that didn’t matter any too much because my mom, who loves Costco and her grandchildren, had bought them both play clothes and pajamas. Also my husband had brought their coats himself because they are always in denial of needing them. And I was carrying kid underpants in my purse because this isn’t my first rodeo either. My children were fully clothed all weekend.

It reminds me of church, where we ask people to come as they are. In reality they need more, but not everyone has the ability to get everything together. We say we’re fine, but we’re not. We might have the right answers, but we all lack. That is why we need to have grace for for one another, and bring an extra sweater just in case.