Cleaning Quietly...

Let me start by saying that I am not a neatness nut by any definition.  I am oblivious to dirt and dust.  I know it exists, but since it isn't trying to hurt me, I normally don't try to hurt it!!  However, this past weeked, the dirt was starting to bother me.  With all the rain we have had, the dog had tracked in a lot of mud.  Also, the pets are all shedding their winter coats and there were fur balls everywhere! 

Rich had to be at work very early on Monday morning, and he was able to leave the house without waking David.  I decided to try to do some cleaning while David was still sleeping.  David doesn't like when I clean - not that the act of cleaning is bothersome to him, he just does not like when the cleaning supplies are taken out of their storage locations for use.  Depending on his mood, something like moving cleaning supplies can cause him to be grumpy all day long!!

Anyway, while David was sleeping, I quietly swept the whole house.  I made sure to move slowly and to be quiet and I was careful not to bump anything that might make noise.  While cleaning quietly, I was thinking about my relationship with God.  When I have my devotions, it seems that I am able to clean my heart more thoroughly and effectively when I am slow and quiet.  If I try to rush through my time with God, I don't do a good job of getting the cobwebs of sin out of my heart.  My relationship with God may look good from those who are quickly passing by, but there is dirt in the corners.  There is a reason for God to tell us to "Be still..." 

As I sat down to have my devotions, I was happy to see dust-bunny free floors.  But I was also reminded to be sure that I took the time to make sure that I have a dust-bunny free heart, too.

Rules...

David loves when we play solitaire (with real cards, not on the computer).  David isn't interested in the game as much as stacking the cards in order by suite from Ace to King.  As I am dealing the cards or counting out the three to see if there are any moves during the game, it is not unusual for David to eagerly (and sometimes roughly) grab a card that he needs to put on one of the piles - especially if it is an Ace to start a pile.  It is not unusual for me to cheat and to count out only one or two cards at a time just so that David can get the cards he needs to make his stacks.

This afternoon as we were playing Solitaire, I decided to see how David would react if I made weird moves - like putting a jack on a seven.  He noticed and did not like me cheating like that.  I laughed at him because the next move he pulled a six card out of the middle of the three cards I counted out to put on one of his piles.  I guess the rules only apply to me, not him.

As a Christian, I often act the same way.  I think it's okay to break one of God's rules to suit what I want or think i need, but I expect everyone else to do right all the time.  God told us that everything should be done decently and in order (I Corinthians 14:40).  That tells me that God is very interested in things being done according to the rules He has provided for us in the Bible.  I may think I am accomplishing my desires and goals by bending or breaking the rules, but I am not.  What David and I do isn't really playing Solitaire.  I tell people we play Solitaire, but we really don't, because we don't follow the rules. 

Breaking the rules playing Solitaire with David has no eternal repurcussions.  But in living our lives for God, everything we do has eternal ramifications.  I needed this reminder to today as I try to live by God's rules, and not mine.

A Sip vs. A Whole Bottle

Let me confess to you that I am a water-obsessed person.  I never go out without bringing a bottle of water to me.  Often several bottles of water.  As we were driving home from church today, David kept trying to drink the last swallow of water out of my water bottle.  I kept handing him his unopened, and still full bottle of water instead.  He didn't want the full bottle, he just wanted to finish off my bottle. 

David does that all the time.  He will literally hover over us while we are drinking our water and as soon as there is only a swallow left, he will try to take the bottle from us.  We always tell David to go get his own bottle and to leave our last swallow alone.

I don't know why David only wants the last dredges of our beverages, but he does.  He is happy to get the backwash and the who-knows-what germs that are on the bottle mouth.  He feels successful when he gets an almost-empty bottle of water, especially if he can sneak it from us. 

As I thought about his behavior this afternoon, I wondered how often I have been willing to settle for less than all God has for me.  Instead of reading my Bible on my own and letting God talk to me directly, I settle for reading the little devotionals that pop up in my email inbox.  Or maybe instead of spending time in prayer and communing with my Father, I settle for a song on the radio that makes me feel good. 

God wants us to have abundance - or full bottles, if you will.  John 10:10b tells us that God was "come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  Psalms 36:8 tells us that "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."   There are many other instances where the Bible tells us that God intended us to do things abundantly.  We shouldn't settle for little sips of God's goodness.  We need to pursue and grasp all the abundance He has for us!  A full bottle is always better than a little sip!
 

Chosen...

When I was a young girl, I made a conscious CHOICE that if I had any control over the situation, I would take care of David when I became an adult. There are many things that led to this CHOICE, but it was a very determined CHOICE. Now, when I made this decision, David was not potty trained. He wasn't potty trained until he was 12 years old. David didn't behave well. He threw fits numerous times a day. He couldn't talk (still can't), he couldn't communicate in any meaningful way, and to many people he had no usefulness.

As a child, teenager and young adult, I helped take care of David. I bathed him. I shaved him. I changed his diaper. I did everything for him - not because I had to do so, but because I CHOSE to do so.

After Rich and I were married for several years, we decided it was time for David to come live with us. Again, this decision was not forced on us - it was what we CHOSE to do. When David came to live with us, it was a year of great challenges as we tried to train David to behave and obey us. For a year, he screamed and we prayed. But it was okay because we CHOSE to endure the difficulty because we love David.

Fast forward many years. David has improved in many ways, but he still has his days of being difficult and ornery. The last few days have been days of big attitude and fits from David. Yesterday afternoon, while he was throwing a fit because I wouldn't let him eat a 2nd lunch after his first lunch, I told David, "You know, it's okay that you are throwing a fit. I CHOSE to take care of you and it doesn't matter what you do!" No sooner had I said the words to David and the Holy Spirit said to me, "That's what Jesus did for you."

You see, when Jesus decided that He would willingly come to earth and die for my sins, He did so knowing that I don't behave well. He knew that I would throw fits and that I don't always communicate with Him in any useful way. And that, really, He didn't need me for anything, so in a sense I was useless to Him. But He CHOSE to come anyway. There are times that I obey and try really hard to please Jesus, but the truth is that I still have days where I am difficult and ornery. I sometimes throw a fit because God won't give me what I want or think I need. And when I do, God says to me, "It's okay. No matter what you do, I will always love you." I am CHOSEN. I am wanted. I am loved. What an overwhelming thought!

You have been CHOSEN, too. Jesus wants you and loves you just as much as He loves me. His patience is longsuffering and His love is eternal. If you have never accepted Him, do so right now. There's no better place to be than in the life of Someone that wants you - no matter your condition!