I was trying to get the kids to clean their room today… man, it takes them so long! I heard myself say some interesting things.
They had been asking to color and for something to eat (they just had lunch). “Don’t ask me for anything until it’s done.” How often do I gripe about all the things I would like or want to do and yet I haven’t yet done the things that God is asking me to do.
I repeatedly remind the kids how much easier and more fun it is to play in a clean room. God reminds me how much easier it is to accomplish more goals when the needful responsibilities resting on my shoulders are finished.
Zach laments how much he hates cleaning his room while I admonish him that when you have toys and you play.. you HAVE to clean them up. It’s just part of having things. I wince at the prick of conscience about all the things that I have been avoiding because of laziness and fear.
Braeden cries because he found a broken toy. I tell him not to complain to me because he is the one who left it on the floor to be stepped on. I think of all the missed opportunities and losses that I have grieved over that could have been avoided if I had obeyed God in a timely manner.
The kids beg for a new toy and I tell them they can’t have one because they don’t take care of what they do have. My dreams of having a big house come down to earth to my own messy apartment, and my novel resting on my computer reminds me how long it has been since I worked on it.
I know that this verse probably isn’t really refering to this .. but it sure strikes me every time this kind of thing happens… Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. 1 Timothy 2:15 I learn so much about my relationship with God through my children’s relationship with me… and about my own shortcomings and how they affect my spiritual life when I see how their shortcomings affect their daily lives. It certainly isn’t about eternal salvation (and neither is the verse), but rather about being saved from my daily struggles with sin and failure to make the right choices.
Sigh.
I better go do some more cleaning. I’m with Zach… I hate cleaning.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
We say those things because we’re moms, and that’s what we’re supposed to say.
Seriously, though, you have some wonderful points here. I appreciate your humble spirit!
You got me too! We’re all like this, I think (LOL or you and I are freaks of nature – not sure which). A very timely reminder for me, dear!