Have you ever let things pile up to the point that you ignored their existence? Adam was a youth minister for 10 years and during that ten years, we went to many weeks of camp. I would get home, throw everything in the laundry room, and go to bed and pretend that the heaps of soured towels, grainy sheets (you know what I mean by this if you've ever been to camp) and the mud covered clothes didn't exist. Well, my laundry is actually done right now. But my blog posts are piling up... So much I've had on my mind to cover.. Chloe turning one, Kindergarten updates, pictures, coupon information etc. I had a friend call today asking if I was ever going to post more pictures.. Maybe in a day or two or three or four but tonight, I've got a couple of announcements to make and the checkbook needs to be balanced. But, Adam keeps telling me that I have to make regular posts or I will lose my audience (if you follow Adam's blog, you'll know that this is the pot calling the kettle black. I update more often than he). But anyway, since I need to be doing other things, I'm going to throw this filler in tonight. A friend of mine is writing a devotional book for mothers. She asked me to co-write it with her but I just didn't feel like I could give her that kind of commitment. So, we pretty much decided that if I wrote something that I thought might work in her book, I would send it to her and if she could use it, then she would. Well, here is the latest insert. Hopefully, my posting this will help and not hinder her book when she gets it out there to sell.
So anyway, here it goes:
Isaiah 55:8 and 9
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
A few nights ago, I was cooking dinner and just as I was pulling a dish out of the oven, I caught a peripheral of Chloe rounding the corner and heading straight for the oven. With hands full of a steaming hot chicken casserole and oven door unlatched, I realized that she was only seconds away from said inferno. So, as any good mother would do, I kicked her… right in the stomach. It was actually just a quick, soft nudge of protection landing her right on her posterior but none the less, it broke her heart.
I left her there on the floor, with a downward lip and crocodile tears as I sat the dish on the stovetop and closed the oven door. I then scooped her up and covered her in kisses trying to explain to her that the blow she received was actually a result of my unending love for her and my maternal instincts…. Knowing that even though she understood very little of my explanation, I comforted her guilt free knowing, that as a parent, I made the best decision and chose the better course of action given the situation.
Thankfully, children recover quickly and have forgiving hearts because it wasn’t long before the tears were gone and she was returning my kisses. But as I held her, I began to wonder how many times I have perceived something from God as a blow to the gut when He was in reality, protecting me from a far worse fate. And I can only pray that I can put as much trust in my God that a one year old does in her mother, knowing that what He does sometimes doesn’t make sense to me but, He has fed me when I am hungry and comforted me when I am hurting, and is far wiser than I.
Lord, thank you for the blessing that you’ve given me in my children. They help me to see such a wonderful picture of you. Help me to have the trust in you that they have in me. Please help me to see that your love for me outreaches even the love that I have for them.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings,
Dana
