See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3 :1a
I’ve been a mother for nearly three years. In that time, I’ve learned so much about the heart of God as our heavenly Father toward us, his children.
Nothing could have prepared me for the toddler years. My toddler is now almost three, and she is sweet most days, and other days she’s just sour.
Yes, my daughter is a Sour Patch Kid.
But this Sour Patch Kid has taught me so much about my heavenly Father.
The Soggy, Spilled Cereal Incident
Our church has two Sunday services. The “early” service begins at 9:00 AM, and the “late” service, at 10:30. On this day, we decided to go to the early service. I got my sweet little 22-month-old, Ella out of her crib at 8:00.
Feeling pressed for time, I got her dressed and hurried her out of the nursery to quickly assemble her breakfast: Cheerios with milk and sliced bananas.
She LOVES this stuff.
Today, she shouted, “No, no, no, no, no!” when I called her to eat.
“No breakfast!” she said.
I put her in her booster seat and told her to eat anyway. She threw a fit, screamed, and overturned her bowl, dumping half of the contents on the table.
Milk was dripping off the side of the table into a puddle on the floor.
The cereal was a soggy, mushy mess.
Banana pieces were stuck to the table.
And I was steaming mad.
I had lovingly prepared one of her favorite breakfasts, ensuring that the bananas were cut small enough to fit on the spoon, measuring the perfect ratio of milk to Cheerios, and this was the response she gave me: she threw a fit and now her cereal was soggy and all over the floor.
I took her down immediately, wiped her hands and said, “What’s the matter with you? I’m not giving you any more to eat.”
All I wanted was for my little girl to get nourishment after a long night of no food or drink so that she would be able to enjoy her day feeling full and satisfied.
Instead she spurned my efforts to care for her and dismissed what could have been a lovely start to our day. Those nutritious oaty O’s and potassium rich chunks of fruit went into the trash.
Plus, I had to change her clothes and clean up all that gross, soggy cereal.
The Lesson I Learned
About halfway through the church service, I had these thoughts. How often has my Father wanted to nourish me through Scripture and I have turned Him away? How many times have I acted like a tantrum-throwing toddler and dumped his life-giving Word and love on the floor?
Quiet time for me happens every day at nap time, but I either drag my feet or I put off spending time with God until I am spiritually starving and half-dead.
My loving Father just wants to provide me with the nutrients I need to grow. He wants to shower me with love and talk with me at the breakfast table.
My one-year-old taught me a lesson today. When my Father calls me to the table and provides food for me to eat, I must obey.
He has the best intentions for me and has the best food for me to eat. He does not want my spiritual tank to run dry after a long night of no food or drink. He wants me to enjoy the best of life.
You know what it’s like to be hangry. Imagine being spiritually hangry all the time!
The next time God calls me to eat and drink of Him and His Word, I’m going to come running. I know that he alone can satisfy the hunger and thirst in my soul.
I won’t drag my feet or make excuses because that is like a toddler dumping a delicious bowl of cereal on the floor that her mother lovingly prepared.
What will your response be?
What about you? Will you spend time taking in God’s Word today?
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11