Well, we did it again!
My son got into the potted plant (which mom kept in the same spot, so I guess we’re both to blame.) I had hoped he would learn from the last time but I guess those little fingers just gotta grab dirt!
I walked into this mess only a couple weeks after the last time.
The first time, I put my son in time out and he cried while I cleaned it up. I explained to him as I cleaned that I needed to clean up because he touched the plant and made a mess. Afterward, I scooped him out of time out, hugged him and stated again that he was not supposed to touch the plant. He understood, so I thought I was in the clear.
Silly me.
Over two weeks went by and he did not touch that plant! Whoo! Mom win.
…And then the other day happened.
So I walked in and saw the dirt. My first thought lasted only for a split second because the second thought came roaring through so quickly afterward. My initial thought was, “How could he do this again? I thought he had learned better. It feels like we just went through this!”
Then the second thought.
And when I say that thought came up roaring, I’m talking like this thing came plowing right at me.
“How many times does God think that about me? About us? How many times have I made the same mistake more than once?”
How many times does He lovingly try to teach us, correct us, show us how we should live… and we obey for a time, maybe even just to avoid future discipline… but then we forget the outcome, the consequences, the pain of disobedience? And we slip right back into the same problem…
Or how many times has He tried to steer us in a better direction but it’s like we refuse to see things differently? We just won’t listen despite His attempts to speak to us. We arrogantly believe that we are the ones who know best.
All I can think of right now are the Israelites during their 40 years wandering the wilderness, making the same errors over and over again. Such a forgetful bunch!
Interestingly, my issue with the plant is actually more a selfish one. I want to have a plant on the table, and when my son tips it over, I have a mess to clean up. I’m not asking him not to touch it for his own good, but for mine. Not that anything is wrong with that! Lots of examples fall into this category here which are good, solid rules for kids to respect.
But the difference with God is that He always has our own good in mind when He asks us to do or not do something.
And here’s the thing – I think many of us understand what God tells us. Call it an inner voice or conscience or whatever if you’re not yet a believer, but we humans are pretty in tune with those things (most of us, anyway.) Like my son, we understand more than we actually obey.
God will do His part in helping us to understand, even when sometimes those lessons are painful and not how we would choose to learn. He knows what will get through our thick skulls and hard hearts better than we do, that’s for sure.
But obeying? That’s something different. And that part’s on us. We have to first choose not to ignore or push aside what is tugging on our heart. We have to be unwilling to talk ourselves out of it rather than listening and praying over it. We have to be humble enough to recognize that we may not have it all together or be half as smart as we think we are, and acknowledge that God ultimately knows what is best for us.
Sometimes our intelligence is the greatest barrier. Sometimes it’s fear, pride, self-centeredness…
When we say we trust the Lord, do we mean it?
Do we mean it enough to confidently say that we trust Him more than we trust ourselves?
If we trust Him, why do we disobey?
Like my son, do we just have to get our fingers in the dirt because we reason that the fleeting feeling it produces is worth the aftermath? Or do we simply forget over time?
Let’s commit to learn from the past – not to forget it.
Blaze a beautiful new path forward without letting the old ways drag you down.
You’ve come too far.
And still… and yet…
If you find yourself sliding into bad habits and sinful ways of thinking, you could never fall so far to be outside His reach.
How did the dirt saga end up? I looked over at my son who came over to look at the mess with me (as if he hadn’t already known it was there) and honestly my heart was so full of love for that little rascal. I still put him in time out, and he didn’t want to be there. But I’ll tell you what – I wanted him out more than he did. I love spending time with him and watching him play, not having him hang out in toddler jail.
And also I removed the plant. Until he can learn to be obedient about this, he misses out on seeing a pretty flowering plant in the house.
But once he can listen to me on this, I will be bringing in so many that he won’t know which to look at.
Why do I have a feeling that God also looks at us, even with dirt still on our fingers and perhaps an unrepentant heart for the moment anyway, and still see the face of a child He loves so dearly?
Why do I have a feeling that God also grieves our discipline and hard lessons even more than we do?
Why do I have a feeling God might also have some beautiful things waiting, but will only allow them in our midst once we are (fill in the blank: mature, humble, obedient, etc..) enough to handle them?
Thank God He knows what is best for us, and that we can rest in Him and His leading for our lives! If He is telling you to stop something, figure out how to knock it off STAT. And if he is telling you to get cranking on something new, go full steam ahead.
He’ll let you know when to switch things up. It’s up to you to listen.
James 1:25, HLC
sacred strokes 