Family under construction!

Sometimes I wonder, about God's decision making. Knowing good and well that we are messed up people, He gives us children to raise. I wonder, when I loose it over one of the princesses spilling a full bottle of mouthwash, on a newly mopped floor, does He think "Oh dear, what was I thinking giving her kids?" Or when I take allowances away because of clothes thrown about, and potties NEVER flushed, does He question my grasp of what grace really looks like? I mean seriously though, how hard is it to flush a potty? It takes like two seconds and spares the next person from being an eye witness to your "business."... I wonder if He ever worries about my child's education like I do, and stress over my curriculum choices... Or worry that they don't get to do enough organized sports and clubs, like their other home school buddies?

Of course He doesn't!! He can see the big picture, and He sees that all of these little incidents, situations etc., play a huge part in who they will become. It strengthens their character, patience and understanding of others. If they were able to do everything that they wanted , they wouldn't understand the families that couldn't. If they didn't have a mom that lost her 'cool' on occasion, they wouldn't understand the apology, forgiving process. Oh yes. We are all works in progress. We are all under construction to be someone better than we are at this current moment.

Last night, as Sweet Man and I lay in bed with our snacks of bananas and yogurt, watching our shows, there was a knock on our door. "Come in," we both said in unison. Our oldest Princess had been listening to her MP3 player before bed, and she wanted to talk about something. After hearing what she wanted to tell us, I was glad I had bit my tongue and not said, "You were supposed to be sleeping, not jamming out to praise and worship music!" She had been touched by a certain song, and the Lord had used it in a mighty way, like only He can! She was crying uncontrollably because she was happy, and that was funny to her. She wanted to talk about Jesus more and then we prayed with her. It was an awesome way to end the day.

So you see, I guess the Lord has pretty good decision making skills, not because I am a great parent, or even know what in the world I am even doing half the time. No. His decisions are good because He doesn't leave us alone to do this task of child raising. He steps in and takes control. He uses our strengths AND our weaknesses, because He knows we are a mess, but that we are a work in progress. He even uses those children He gave me, to teach me more about Him. We are a family under construction...and I am ok with that!

Christmas 2008