My son has a phrase he uses. He stands up and says: "Mama, Dada, I big (arms up to the sky) and strong (arms behind his back)." This always puts a smile on my face. Growing up, there are little milestones all along the way. Transitions await around every corner. The transition that our family is in the middle of is that my son is potty training. I even went to the store and got big boy underwear (With Thomas the Tank Engine on them). Now... let me tell you, this is a big transition. The pull-ups my son currently wears have dragons in "the peeing area" that disappear when they get wet. Now, my wife has been telling Josiah that he has to go on the potty because he does not want to make the dragons sad because then they go away. This seems to work, but he still makes them go away. He is starting to get the hang of it and we are very proud of him. We have been rewarding him as he goes along. But as we go through this, God has been smacking me upside the head with several lessons we can all learn through this.
1. Sometimes, Josiah makes mistakes, and goes in his Diaper or Underwear. It is so frustrating because we know he can do it, yet he makes mistakes. How often, do we, as Christians, make mistakes and revert back to our old ways. How frustrating it must be to God when we do this. He knows we can do it, yet we choose not to. How often do we break God's heart in this way. But we can never get discouraged because he is NOT mad at us. He loves us and cares about us just the same. No matter how frustrated I get with Josiah when he doesn't hurry to the potty when he has to potty. I still love him and want the best for him. The same is true of God.
2. God loves us no matter what we do. His love is unconditional. No matter how frustrated He can get with us and our sinful ways. God loves us. He may not like what we do. But he loves us just the same.
Well, thanks for letting me put my random thoughts on paper,
Josh
