By far the most chaotic time for my family is Sunday morning as we are preparing for church. Trying to make it out the door on time with everyone preened and primped is quite the feat with three children who do not sense urgency.
We were doing considerably well this Sunday. Everyone was gathered at the door for the final stage of adorning shoes and heading out. It seemed necessary to Mary at that moment to investigate a coffee cup left on the counter. Of course the coffee cup was not empty and in order for her to do a thorough examination with the counter still inches above her head, the coffee cup had to be lifted with a flipping motion that sent its contents (thankfully well-cooled at this point) in a wash over her beautiful sundress. In a flurry of unplanned activity, I stripped her, ran the soiled dress upstairs to soak, pulled a fresh dress from the closet, sat her on the potty before we had any other unwanted incidents, and sent Jon out to at least get two children loaded in the vehicle. I retrieved Mary from the bathroom and rushed to put her shoes on which had been left by the kitchen door.
Or had they? "Jon!" I yell dramatically from the window, "Where are her shoes?!" Exasperated, he responds, "I put them right in front of the bathroom door! How could you have missed them?!" Indeed, there they were, placed so strategically in front of the bathroom door that he was wise to think not a person could miss them, much less avoid tripping over them. But I was not looking for her shoes at the bathroom door. I knew to look for them at the kitchen door where I had left them. I was so mission-minded as I launched out of the bathroom, Mary on my hip, I overlooked them.
After His resurrection, Jesus was not immediately recognized by Mary at the tomb. She thought He was a gardener. It was not until He spoke her name that she realized with whom she had been conversing. I have often wondered what took her so long to figure it out. The shoes were a little revelation for me. She was not looking for Jesus alive; she was looking for a dead body. She had seen Him laid in the tomb on Friday so she was not expecting anything else but a dead body when she got there.
I wonder how often we overlook Jesus in our own life. How many times have we blown out the door with a mission for our day, stepping right over that Jesus-moment in our life, not even seeing it? What miracles have been undiscovered, written off as coincidence? What inconvenience was really God at our doorstep with opportunity?
Perhaps we are so busy with our own plans for our life, that we look for Jesus only in the areas where we left Him. "Hey Jesus! Good to see you at church- I'll be calling you for my next tragedy! Thanks for being there!" And off we go, not expecting to find God working in our everyday life, so we miss those moments when He makes His Will obvious to us.
What are we to do then? In my life where I am bustling about tending to needs all day, how do I make certain I do not miss God? James 1:22-25 advises, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- he will be blessed in what he does." To recap - read God's Word, apply it to your life, and be blessed!
I think prayer is the most certain way to open the door for God to make Himself known in your life. Beginning your day in prayer will route your thoughts toward God. If you invite Him to join you in your day, you will be sure to be looking for Him when He takes you up on that invitation. No more stepping over God in your doorway- time to get in step with Him!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Walk This Way
I had no idea the effect parenting would have on my spirituality. Though I never intended this blog to be a regular comparison and confession of my day to day interactions with my children, it seems that is what God's intentions are for it. I look at my children and feel inspired. I know what I, a sinful being, desire for them and through that I can see what God in His perfect love longs for us, His children.
Colette is a child with a strong will and an intelligence that leaves me dumbfounded. There are times where I feel so unprepared to raise someone of her nature and capabilities. I daydream about her future; her potential to turn this world on its axis. If I see this in my own child, what must God see in each of us- He who designed us with a specific purpose? I can only imagine what Colette will become, but God knows what He has in store for her.
As parents, Jon and I will play a huge role in our children's outcome. To understand my influence in the molding of their character- how I encourage them, how I coddle them, how I teach them and what I model for them- often leaves me overwhelmed. What I desire for Colette, Mary, and Julia is love, security, a clear sense of right and wrong, and most importantly, a solid faith in Christ. What pains me is knowing they will likely go through trials to achieve these things, just as I did. And what worries me even more is that they will not always make the right decision. I will not be able to protect them from every decision that they make. Were I to shelter them from these fears, they would likely never end up with the qualities I so desire for them. The responsibility of guiding them with enough influence, yet allowing enough freedom for development, is a balancing act I have not mastered. Has any parent?
Even now as I watch Colette and Mary make little kid decisions with small impacts, I hurt for them when they are unhappy with the results. Yes, Mary decided in the moment that refusing to eat green beans was a good idea, but when everyone else is eating ice cream, those big tears make a mother's heart ache. The truth is I want her to have the ice cream. I love blessing my children, watching them delight in an act of kindness and love. But, as a mother who is deeply concerned about raising her children to understand responsibility for their actions, I know that withholding the ice cream is the most loving thing I can do. I am always going to love my children and I will always desire to be a blessing to them and to shower them with blessings, but there is a time for everything. Sometimes, there is a time for withholding blessings.
Our loving Father in Heaven has a storehouse of blessings waiting to rain down on us. But as a good and just Father, He also will wisely choose when to shower those blessings. He will always love us, but He cannot bless us when we walk outside of His Will. It is the basic concept of parenting. We use reward charts to communicate the concept to our children. Is it any surprise that our Father in Heaven looks forward to rewarding us when we walk in His ways?
Psalm 37:4-5 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this..." That's quite the promise for those who choose to walk this way, the path that He has carved for you.
Colette is a child with a strong will and an intelligence that leaves me dumbfounded. There are times where I feel so unprepared to raise someone of her nature and capabilities. I daydream about her future; her potential to turn this world on its axis. If I see this in my own child, what must God see in each of us- He who designed us with a specific purpose? I can only imagine what Colette will become, but God knows what He has in store for her.
As parents, Jon and I will play a huge role in our children's outcome. To understand my influence in the molding of their character- how I encourage them, how I coddle them, how I teach them and what I model for them- often leaves me overwhelmed. What I desire for Colette, Mary, and Julia is love, security, a clear sense of right and wrong, and most importantly, a solid faith in Christ. What pains me is knowing they will likely go through trials to achieve these things, just as I did. And what worries me even more is that they will not always make the right decision. I will not be able to protect them from every decision that they make. Were I to shelter them from these fears, they would likely never end up with the qualities I so desire for them. The responsibility of guiding them with enough influence, yet allowing enough freedom for development, is a balancing act I have not mastered. Has any parent?
Even now as I watch Colette and Mary make little kid decisions with small impacts, I hurt for them when they are unhappy with the results. Yes, Mary decided in the moment that refusing to eat green beans was a good idea, but when everyone else is eating ice cream, those big tears make a mother's heart ache. The truth is I want her to have the ice cream. I love blessing my children, watching them delight in an act of kindness and love. But, as a mother who is deeply concerned about raising her children to understand responsibility for their actions, I know that withholding the ice cream is the most loving thing I can do. I am always going to love my children and I will always desire to be a blessing to them and to shower them with blessings, but there is a time for everything. Sometimes, there is a time for withholding blessings.
Our loving Father in Heaven has a storehouse of blessings waiting to rain down on us. But as a good and just Father, He also will wisely choose when to shower those blessings. He will always love us, but He cannot bless us when we walk outside of His Will. It is the basic concept of parenting. We use reward charts to communicate the concept to our children. Is it any surprise that our Father in Heaven looks forward to rewarding us when we walk in His ways?
Psalm 37:4-5 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this..." That's quite the promise for those who choose to walk this way, the path that He has carved for you.
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