The Hurricane

I’m not talking about Hurricane Rita that took our house in 2005 or even the latest one in our area, Ike, that destroyed an entire city. I’m talking about the hurricane in my house: my son, Raden.

a.k.a. Hurricane Raden.

There’s probably one chore I loathe to do most. It is the one that is truly never done and always looms over my head, screaming at me. I’m talking about the one and only: kids’ rooms. They are never clean and always messy.

This morning I decided to hit the ground running and get it done – correctly – which would take all morning. I was emotionally prepared, had my coffee, and ready to knock it out and spend the afternoon rewarding myself with knitting for at least an hour.

And I did! I got Raden’s room done and moved on to Kalae’s room. When I first walked in her room, I spotted some glasses that needed to go to the kitchen, so I grabbed them then headed back down the hall. As I walked by Raden’s room, I happened to glance in. Just to get a beautiful peek at my gloriously clean room.

As I walked by, I stopped dead in my tracks. My emotions then ranged from sadness to wanting to weep, then anger to wanting to bang my head against the door frame. Hurricane Raden had been through and the devastation sat before me. The toy box was tipped over, empty, and the floor was completely covered.

I just stood there. I thought, “I just cleaned it up! Now I ALREADY have to do it again?! When will he learn??!!”

As I pondered that, I realized that it was a perfect situation to show what we do to God. Sin completely destroyed our lives and when we came to know Christ, He cleaned us up and made us beautiful, completely spotless. Yet, we soon forget His forgiveness. We also forget His graciousness for loving us so much that He wiped away our detestable sin in order that He could be close to us. We soon fall back into the life we knew and wreck it all again.

I’m sure God wants to say, “I just cleaned it up! When will you learn?!” At least He definitely has the right to do so. I’m sure His frustration goes much deeper than mine does with a toddler’s messy room. He deals with people messing up their very lives. Choosing to live in a sty of a life rather than choosing to live a life of beauty.

Keeping your life clean is hard. Not doing all the sinful things in life is HARD! It’s the little sins that are the hardest: pride, selfishness, coveting things we don’t have, anger, and lust to just name a few. But, as we know with housework, it can’t just be a weekly thing. You can’t go to church once a week, get your little “fix” of God, then expect your life to be right. Keeping your life, and your house, clean is a DAILY thing. And as my son showed me today, sometimes it’s multiple times a day!

So, instead of getting mad at my son for undoing all the work I had done, I thought I should treat him as God treats me when I mess things up. I offered him patience, instead of anger. I offered him compassion, because he’s still little and needs my help. I gave him love, because even though he made me mad for a moment, he still melts my heart.

Isn’t it wonderful that God does that for us? That He gives us such patience, despite how much we probably anger Him. The incredible compassion He has for us because we can be so immature and selfish, just like toddlers. And for His great love, that we can never repay. The very LEAST we should do for Him is try our hardest to keep our lives clean for Him.

But, like my son, it’ll take some time, patience, compassion, love and sometimes tough love for us to finally learn. 🙂

 

God, thank You for the message You sent me through my little man today. I know that I can treat you the same. But, unlike him, I should know better. I’m sorry for how quickly I can forget the wonderful things You do for me and my family. Remind me daily of how much You are in my life and how much You love me and bless me as You do. Thank You for Your never ending love and patience as I learn to live a life that makes You smile.

Scriptures I need to read today:

Psalm 86:5 “Lord, You are kind and forgiving and have great love for those who call to You.”

Ecclessiastes 2:26 “If people please God, God will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy.”

Isaiah 54:10 “The moutains may disappear, and the hills may come to an end, but my love will never disappear; my promise of peace will not come to an end.”

(Kristin’s note: For those that might not know: this is God, Himself, speaking to us.)

Colossians 3:23-24 “In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which He promised to His people. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

(Kristin’s note: This tells me to clean my kids’ rooms as if doing it for the Lord – even if it’s over and over and over…..:) )