Two days ago, early in the morning, as I was getting my car loaded up for the day with book bag, lunch box, my purse, my work bag, etc, etc, etc, I noticed a spot of icky, gooey, melted chocolate on the my daughter's booster seat. I remembered I had carted home a dirty plate from a cake I had baked for my girls at work the day before and placed in her booster seat for a safer ride home and apparently some of the chocolate had melted and formed a puddle in her seat. It was already five minutes past time to leave so I did what any good mother would do...I threw a small towel over it and vowed to clean it up later in the afternoon.
As I went back inside and grabbed my Coke, my daughter climbed in the car and buckled herself in tightly. I jumped in the driver's seat, pulled out of the drive and shimmied down the road to her school. I had completely forgotten the chocolate and the towel. Well, almost completely, that is, until I watched my child exit the car in the car line and start the walk up to the school door. It was then I saw it - the towel, thrown off of the seat and lying on the floorboard and the dark chocolate stain on the back of her outfit! But it was far too late. Car line moves quickly - I was almost out of the parking lot before I could gather all my thoughts together. I was mad - why did she throw the towel off the seat before she sat down...didn't she see the spot, didn't she know it would stain, what was she thinking? I stopped the car and ran to the school entrance, I found her and quickly took her to the bathroom to wipe the chocolate off and try and minimize the damage. I asked her why she sat on it and of course her first grade reply was that she didn't see it! She just knew she didn't want to sit on the towel. It was strange and unusual and didn't belong in her seat so she got rid of it. She tossed it aside with no regard for the real reason it was there.
After she was clean and safely deposited in her class, I continued on the rest of the way to work. About five minutes into my drive on the highway it hit me that I do the same thing, probably more times than I care to imagine.
I think I know best, I forget that God is in control. I forget that He can see the spots of sin that are constantly around me, just waiting for me to toss the protection aside and let them stain me, my life, my witness. It made me stop and wonder about all the times in my life when I disregard the protection of God...the small voice that tells me to do this, or that, the gentle reminder to pray for my child or my husband or my parents, the tug on my heart that says "get up and go to church" when all I want to do is sleep a few more hours on a Sunday. How often are these things set in place by God to keep me on the path that leads to Him, and how often do I toss them aside, without regard for why they are there because they are uncomfortable or contrary to what I want to do and how many stains have I let soil my soul because of it?
The stain on my child's clothes was easily blotted away with a towel and some water, the stains on my heart and soul require much stronger stuff...thankfully God's love has provided the blood of Christ to cleanse it all away.
Living Happily in the Moment!
1 comment:
Very well put! The spiritual reality here is moving, but what amazes me most is that you were able to get the chocolate off her clothes! Never have I been so talented....
Post a Comment