Kind to the Ungrateful

This morning as I was reading a chapter in the Gospel of Luke, I was overwhelmed meditating on how God loves the ungrateful and works in me to do the same: 

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:35-36

In recent days, I've noticed my son doing much more whining and pouting than he ever has. Some say, "oh, it's just the terrible twos and he'll get over it." I say it's part an inadequacy to properly communicate his needs and wants, and partly an ungratefulness for what he already has. In response to the abundance of whining going on around this little apartment, it is far too easy to become impatient, harsh, and unkind. I find myself being sharp with my words and quick with my actions. Oftentimes, I feel like the whining has brought me to the end of my rope. And THEN, God opens my eyes, yet again, to the wonderous things in His law...

Unlike me and my tendency to get up-tight and short-tempered, God, my perfect Heavenly Father is kind to the ungrateful and evil. In all my silent complaints against God's providence and goodness, I am doing nothing less than being a big whiner and yet God in His perfect love and compassion, graciously reminds me that He is kind, gentle, patient, and forgiving of the whining that so grieves Him. He is good and only seeks good for those who love Him and here I am restless in the face of His sovereignty. 

As a momma, my life is characterized by giving without return and spending without instant reward. In my selfishness, I can get "overwhelmed" by how much I am exerting and how little I'm getting in return. However, this little gem of Scripture reminds me that I am called to give without receiving because my Father in Heaven has given the ultimate Gift without any price that I could ever pay! He has loved His enemies, done good to those who rebel against Him, and given expecting nothing in return by sending His Son to atone for my sins - ungratefulness being one of them. 

During the times that I am tempted to snap because I've said "no" more than I've blinked and have heard "nah nah nah" for the umpteenth time, I will seek to remember the gracious kindness of my Father toward a whiny, ungrateful, unkind, yet forgiven sinner like me.

May my words be gentle and kind and may I reflect the character of my perfect, kind, patient, and loving Father to my precious children every moment of their lives...

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A secret to joy

It's been almost two months since I've written a blog post. This hiatus was certainly not my intention and I hate that I haven't kept up with writing. Granted, I am not a writer, but thought this would be a good avenue to encourage, bless, challenge, etc. So, I've come to write a very brief post about a song I heard on the radio yesterday. The song is Steven Curtis Chapman's Do Everything. I have actually heard the song many times before but I've never actually listened to the very first verse. It was SO encouraging to me:

You're picking up toys on the living room floor
For the fifteenth time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
And head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you it all matters just as long

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

This came as such an encouragement to me as just that very morning, I was thinking, "I think I pick up more cheerios than Samuel puts in his mouth." Funny how a song can express my very thoughts :) Anyway, I began thinking about my own fight for joy in the everyday life of being a wife and mother. These lyrics - this biblical concept - is one secret to having joy in the mundane: Do EVERY LITTLE thing to the glory of God. For His kingdom. Because He loves you and died for you. 

This song definitely helped me this morning as I was disinfecting and swiffering our entire apartment. Clearing our germies to the glory of God! Amen?

May I do everything "to bring a smile to His face" :)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23

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Turbulence

Our little family is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my side of the family this week. I'll definitely post some pictures of our time here when we get back to Louisville! 

Joshua is joining me and Samuel this afternoon as he had some work and school things to wrap up in KY. We are SO excited to see him and have missed him so much! Samuel and I took a very early flight on Friday morning, which was really smooth (Samuel makes flying with a baby seem easy. Eucharisteo.) However, as we neared the end of our two flights and were descending in to the Daytona Beach area, we hit some pretty intense turbulence. I love flying but when we go through clouds, my face turns white, I begin to sweat, and life suddenly becomes very serious and precious to me. Well, as Samuel was cooing and entertaining the other passengers, we hit a cluster of clouds (which felt like a mountain range) and the bumping began. I held on tight and looked around. Was anyone else clutching the arm rests and whispering prayers?! Get a grip, Mer.

After things leveled off and I was confident the plane wasn't going down, I began to think rationally again. I began thinking about my own reaction to turbulence on the plane as well as the "turbulence" of life. How can I be so faithless at times, worrying about the future, and allowing myself to be troubled in my spirit? Then I looked at Samuel who was still sitting there as content as could be, trusting in his momma to protect him and care for him. Through the bumps, he kept his smile and composure, unmoved by the potential chaos around him. I thought, "wow, if only I trusted my heavenly Father with such simple and child-like faith..." And how much more does God care for me and every detail of my life than I even do for Samuel! That is absolutely unfathomable to me, but it brings me great joy and comfort. 

I don't want to be like Peter, who, "when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me" (Matt. 14:30). Here, Jesus had just walked on the water and Peter asked Jesus if he could walk to Him. Instead of keeping his eyes and faith on Jesus, he shifted his attention to the circumstances where Peter began fretting and not trusting in the Lord. I want to look to Jesus with eyes of faith and trust, knowing that He is taking hold of me and directing each of my steps. 

God is so faithful to give us little lessons in everyday life of His goodness in our lives. May I always focus on the author and finisher of my faith, persevering in trusting Him!

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
   the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life. The LORD will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 121

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