Well nothing out of the ordinary or life changing has been going on lately. Not that the insanity has abated, just that its the same insanity day after day. Winter decided to show up, much to my dismay. School is going great. Life is just kind of humming along as usual, hence no blog posts. So since nothing is externally going on of any interest, I will have to regale you with the thoughts taken straight from my own brain. This may or may not be entertaining, but it is content for my blog. And that has to count for something, right?
So here is another of my "Things my kids have taught me about God" themed posts. Do you ever wonder if God sees us the same way we see our own children? On a recent shopping trip with my seven year old daughter, I had to field the usual (and frequent) requests for everything under the sun. "Can I have this pack of flossers mommy?" and two minutes later "Can I have a candy bar mommy?" This same loop played over and over, her begging for stuff I was reasonably certain she didn't really want, and me telling her No, she couldn't have everything she wanted, and even if I could give her all she asked for, it wouldn't be good for her. Finally we were at the checkout, and in one last desperate attempt to get something, anything, she looked up at me and said "Can I just have one small bag of chips?" Sighing, I said "OK, one bag and don't ask for anything else today." She was ecstatic. "oh thank you mommy!" she chirped, bouncing up and down with glee. I gave her the chips and began to gather up the groceries. As we left the store I asked her for a chip. Her once sunny countenance clouded with a petulant frown. "But they are miiinnneee!" she whined, clutching the bag of chips closer. " Sharing a few of your chips with me wont hurt you" I said "after all, you wouldn't have those chips right now if I hadn't bought them for you!" She reluctantly gave me a few chips, but she wasn't happy about it one bit.
Contrast that with another trip with my four year old son, who asked for a pack of tic tacs. I bought them for him and the first thing he did was offer me some "mommy, do you want some of my tic tacs?"He asked, looking up at me with his big brown eyes " No buddy, you can have them, thank you though" I told him,but he continued to insist until I took a couple. That got me thinking, so often God blesses us with more than we deserve, and when he asks for a portion of our time,talents or our finances, we whine "But it's MIIINNNEEEE" and clutch our chip bag closer, not realizing that everything we have he has given to us. Our health, our jobs, our home, even our talents, are given to us by God,so why is it so hard to give him a portion? Is it because we think, like my daughter, that he is going to take everything and leave us with a crumpled bag of crumbs to show for it? 2 Corinthians 9:7 says " Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." Well, I think we can all agree that my my daughter was giving grudgingly, and of necessity, while my son was giving to me with a cheerful heart full of thankfulness that I had given him the candy in the first place. Which child warms the parents heart? The child who gives, but grudgingly, or the child who cheerfully shares what he has with others? When it comes to God, which child are YOU?
