Which of your fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion? 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
My morning conversation with Hannah went something like this:
Sarah: Hannah, what would you like to eat today?
Hannah: Rock
Sarah: Raisin bran?
Hannah: No. Rock.
Sarah: A cereal bar?
Hannah: No, rock.
Sarah (totally confused): Show me what you want to eat.
Hannah goes over to the bookshelf and points at a rock.
Sarah: Would you like to play with the rock?
Hannah: No, eat.
Sarah: You can't eat a rock!
Hannah: Please (said also in sign language)
Sarah: Hannah, we don't eat rocks. Come show me what cereal you want to eat.
Hannah falls to the floor and begins crying.
Hannah has me thinking about parents giving good gifts to their kids. I realize that the inverse is also true: as parents we don't give bad gifts to our kids, even if they ask for it. No, you can't eat a rock for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner for that matter.
It's moments like these that it hits me: I have been asking God for rocks when He wants to give me something good. He wants to give me the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I begin to ask for tangible things that won't last (which God does care about, but there really is so much more than the here and now that will fade away).
I was sad to tell Hannah that she couldn't eat the rock this morning (albeit mostly for selfish reasons - who wants to start their day off with a fussy toddler?) but even if I had given it to her and if she had tried to eat it I would probably be in the emergency room now, or a dentist office. I find Hannah's behavior so childish, and yet, her actions show me how childlike my prayer life is most of the time.
Praise God for continually teaching me and drawing me closer to his image. He does not promise a nice house in good school district, friends to hang out with and extra spending money for Starbucks, but he does promise His Holy Spirit and if I can just remember this simple lesson from my two year old I would understand the greatest gift I have ever been given. Sweet Hannah, she has no idea how much she is teaching me about the depth of God's love.
I'll leave you with some pictures I took this morning while Kate was sleeping.
3 comments:
What a funny yet insightful story and realization you had today. Thanks for letting us all see how you handled and thought about a difficult situation. It is always a blessing to see our little ones remind us of how much God loves us and what He does for us..thanks for the reminder!
oh, that's a good word. amen, sister. i'm learning SO MUCH about myself from my little man. oh, what a journey!! God gave us husbands and children to show us how much more work we need and how much Grace we need!!
(i got a kick out of the rock story. that's hilarious!!!!!!)
Good lesson, thank you for sharing, Sarah. Seriously, where would we be in our process of sanctification without our husbands and kids? (Of course, God would be working on us in other ways, but you know what I mean!)
Amazing love, how can it be?!
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