Field trips. Got to love em. Well at
least the kids do. After a very crazy day of chaperoning a recent
field trip with my children and half of their school, we all three
crashed on the couch exhausted. As Sophie worked with the remote to
find a show to watch, she had to give it to me to get it where it
needed to be. It’s one of those universal remotes that even I
can’t figure out sometimes. As she lay down beside me, she asked,
“Why can’t I do things right?” Thinking she was frustrated with
the remote, I asked her what she meant. “Why can’t I listen?”
she asked.
Okay, now let me back up. On the way
back to the school from the field trip, we were talking about what we
had to do after school. She was fussing and complaining because she
couldn’t do certain things she wanted to do. Even after I explained
to her why she couldn’t, she kept on. Now I knew she was tired so
I was patient with her. Finally after I had heard enough, I told her
she was being ungrateful. I had just spent the whole day with her on
her field trip, and it was all about her having fun. After thinking
for a while, she told me she was sorry for acting that way.
Then at a store, she whined and
complained again because she couldn’t get a game she wanted. Even
after I explained why, she kept on. Don’t you love that? Me
neither.
When we got in the car, she began to
cry and said she was sorry. So when she asked me at home why she
wasn’t able to listen, I knew she had really been thinking about
it. I knew she didn’t need a lecture. What she needed was the
truth spoken in love, and she needed grace.
I couldn’t help but sympathize with
her. I too wonder and ask God sometimes, “Why can’t I get it
right?” After trying and trying to improve on things and going
round and round in circles, I feel defeated too. Do you know what my
Father gives me? Truth and grace. God knows my heart. I may not
always get everything right, but He still loves me anyway. I felt
like that is what Sophie needed to know. That I love her even when
she messes up… over and over again. The fact that she is trying and
wants to change makes me more willing to show her mercy. God also
knows when we really desire to obey Him and live according to His
word. Thankfully, He shows mercy upon mercy to me too.
“The Lord
God has told us what is right and what He demands: “See that
justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey
your God.” Micah 6: 8
“The
faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great
is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Lamentations 22,23
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