Messes

When I had kids people tried to warn me. I guess I was so focused on little tiny socks and soft blankets, chubby cheeks and pretty blue eyes that I didn't hear them. Experience truly is the best teacher, and unfortunately sometimes I'm a slow learner.

I say that as a preface to the story that I'm about to tell.

Abby LOVES cheese: cheese slices, shredded cheese, cheddar cheese, white cheese; it doesn't matter.

This morning I was in the kitchen trying to get things back in order after three weeks of renovating. The kitchen was a mess and Jungle Book 2 was on The Disney Channel, so I worked while Abby watched the movie. I filled her little orange bowl with shredded cheese, sent her into the living room, and I continued what I was doing.

I refilled the bowl several times (and let me insert here that vacuuming the living room rug was on the list, so I wasn't very concerned with her spilling the cheese), and on the last refill I said, "No more cheese; this is it."

After a few minutes, Abby said, "Mommy, can you help me. My cheese spilled."

Oh..my..word

Did her cheese spill. It was everywhere! The rug was orange from all the cheese she had dumped out.

I sighed, went to the closet, lugged out the vacuum cleaner and proceeded to suck up the mess.

Meanwhile, Abby ran into her room and stayed while I cleaned. When I turned the vacuum off, she ran into the living room shouting, "MOMMY, did you clean up my mess?"

That made me think. Sometimes I do that to God.

I make a huge mess and then run away while he cleans it up and then trot back in the room after a while and say, "God, did you clean up my mess?"

I didn't mind vacuuming the rug. It was on my list anyway, and I know that Abby is much too small to handle it by herself and clean up her own mess, but there was no remorse; there was no "I'm sorry for making that mess, Mommy." There was just the assumption that I would clean it up.

Do you and I make messes and then just assume that God will clean them up? He loves us, certainly, and he does clean up behind us many times, but don't we have a responsibility to repent, say we're sorry and not just presume on God's grace?

That's my thought for the day.