When I am a grandmother

When I am a grandmother, I will probably think this is darling. I will probably leave the handprints where they are until the summer showers wash them away.

I will probably say something affirming like, "How creative you are to squish your hands in the paint and then slap your hands against the house. You are truly experiencing art!"

But today, I am not a grandmother. I am a mom in the trenches, and all I can manage is, " Now that you've shown the world how you can walk on your hands like a baboon, how about show me how you can wield a scrub brush?"

This morning several of my children had difficulty getting along with each other. Instead of losing it (as I am apt to do when they bicker first thing in the morning), I tried vision casting again. Our on-the-way-to-school devotional time consisted of each kid answering the question, "What kind of family do we want to be?" And then, each kid in turn asked Jesus for help in becoming that kind of family. Every kid knew the right answers. The problem doesn't seem to be information, it's inspiration. We asked Jesus for help, acknowledging that doing the right thing is easier said than done, and that we desperately need Him to change our hearts.

I have a feeling that our greatest achievement this summer might just be getting along with each other - a feat accomplished only by the grace and kindness of God. May we be teachable and learn from Him, and learn to clean up the messes we make!

 

Isaiah 1:18 NIV

 

"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.