My thoughts have been wrapped up in some interesting places lately...most of those thoughts have revolved around bodily functions and reading books. NO!!! Not my own, necessarily, but those of my 2 year old, Willa. You see, she's potty training and with that my wife and I are literally spending hours sitting on the edge of a bathtub reading cardboard books to her in an encouragement to simply "let go". She loves it!! She sits down on her potty seat, looks up with her gorgeous grey-green eyes, and says, "I potty!! I get big chocolate" (her M & M reward for accomplishing her task). To her it's simple, sit down, read for 30 minutes, go potty, get chocolate. She has us trained so well!!
I think about this process of potty training and I actually feel encouraged. I mean, it's difficult...there are messes regularly (although they seem to be occurring less frequently than when we first began); there are tantrums (especially in the morning...I mean, who wants to go from a warm bed to a cold seat??); there is confusion (all of her life she has been able to "go" whenever and wherever she wanted and now, now there are all these new rules. What's up with that??). What's encouraging is her capacity to change, to grow, to take on a new task and work to accomplish that task. When she comes to me, smile spread wide across her face, having just flushed, all she's looking for is approval and congratulations. We lay it on thick...wrapping her up in our arms, squealing with her as we reward her with love and attention, praise and yes, chocolate. The reality is that by this point, I think she craves the attention and the hugs more than the chocolate (well, maybe?)As Followers of Jesus, we are so much more like Willa than we realize. We make lots of messes; we throw our tantrums; we spend plenty of time in confusion...and we have a tremendous capacity to change. When we gaze up into the face of our Father, all of His love, all of His attention, all of His praise being lavished upon, we beam in satisfaction. Nothing could replace that...nothing could take the place of KNOWING how much Jesus is pleased when we accomplish the tasks that He has given us!! So today, understand how loved you are...look up in confidence at the face of your Father and acknowledge His smile. There are times when it feels like the rewards are too far away. Realize, that every morning and every night is a reward...every moment spent as His child is a reward. Realize that you are precious in His sight, and the changes He asks of you are fully within your capacity. Enjoy that reward...and yes, enjoy the chocolate.
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