I love prophetic pictures throughout daily life. God gives us such a beautiful gift of "seeing" as we become parents that was often lacking before we became parents. I love that I get to re-claim my own childhood while parenting. It is such a gift. To Him, we will always be kids. Though our relationship changes as we grow more mature throughout life, I never want to forget who I am. I am His kid. He will always be the caretaker, provider, and nurturer in the relationship. I will always first be the recipient, and after being the recipient, will then be able to give back to Him and to others.
Onto my exhibit A of the day....
It is a beautiful day outside, and I wanted to be able to take Ella to the park to make up for all the hot days this summer where we needed to stay inside. So, as is our routine, I say to Ella "You want to go upstairs?" She happily toddles over to the staircase and waits for me to take the gate down--knowing that it is a special treat when she gets to climb the stairs. We get to the top of the staircase, and I tell her it's time to get her diaper changed so we can go to the park. She knows what diaper change means and also knows that she'd much rather run around having me chase her into the closet or behind the rocking chair than get her said diaper changed. As I was trying to to catch her, I automatically sensed God closely by.
"Quite a picture, isn't it?" He said.
Here I was, wanting to take Ella to the park, wanting her to enjoy her day, and there she was avoiding the one thing that needed to take place before she could bask in the fun. Cleaning up that poop.
We all know the famous children's book, "Everybody poops." Oh, do we. And thank God He is kind enough to change our diapers. But how often do I, when posed with a day of fun at the park choose to avoid the cleansing process that must come beforehand?
Oy.
Instead, I whine and grovel about how un-fun it is to get my diaper changed. I run and hide behind the rocking chair, thinking maybe He won't see me...or I go into the closet and play hide and seek behind Daddy's dress shirts. I'm sure I'm the only one that does this, right?
And so is life. There are an unimaginable amount of blessings, gifts, surprises, and vacations hidden behind that dirty diaper. And though we will have to go through the diaper changing process more times that we would care to admit, there is always something good just around the corner. And my job is an easy one, I just lay there and let Him help me out. He doesn't need my assistance (have you ever changed a diaper with toddler fingers in the way?), He'd just like me to stop squirming and to relax. The process will go very quickly, painless even, if I just give up.
And somewhere down the line, I learn that the quicker I let go, instead of making Him chase me, the quicker I get to the park. Because, thankfully, His intent isn't to spend a lifetime on the diaper changing table, His intent is to enjoy what's coming afterward. The diaper change is just a quick step to the fruitfulness the day will hold.
He is a good God. And He takes good care of us.
Thank Goodness.
(Next blog tomorrow is the practical tips, promise!)
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