Giggle, Grace, and Love

This is a quick, I’ve got to get this down before it flies out of my head. *smile* Giggle(5yo) has been learning to take care of what she has been blessed with. If we are thankful, we take care of our blessings. Ouch, there’s a message in that statement, isn’t there? Maybe we’ll talk about that one more later. Right now, there is something else to talk about.

OK, so Giggle is learning to keep her space neat and tidy. She had been clearly, calmly informed of the consequence if her things were found left in a heap on the closet floor. More than two days of gentle, yet plain spoken, reminders had been given to her; yet she still chose to leave the heap on the closet floor. Not only did she not put the items in the heap away, she continued to add more to the already large pile. It takes quite a bit of small items to make so large of a mess. Finally, after several days of reminding and encouraging her to do the right thing, Blessed Mama was left with no choice but to administer the foretold consequence. Giggle had to gather up everything from the floor of the closet and place it in a large bag and place it in her parents room. Maybe, these items will be returned. Maybe, they will bless another child. It all depends on Giggle. As it has been from the beginning, the choice is hers and hers alone. Will she bend her will and choose what is right or will she continue on as before? Blessed Mama can only pray.

After having placed some of her most precious possessions in a bag not knowing whether they would ever be hers again, Giggle chose an interesting course of action. Without being told to, Giggle preceded to clean the rest of the room she and her older sister share, all by herself. This mad and intense cleaning spree was done with a smile on her face, singing on her lips, and determination written all over her tiny body. Giggle was on a mission. She was going to single-handedly redeem her things from Blessed Mama’s room. Did Blessed Mama tell her to do this? No. Was it even remotely hinted at that doing so would bring about the desired result of having her belongings returned? No.

This sweetly determined little five-year-old was feverishly picking up and tidying ever crevice and corner with nothing but faith and hope that her efforts would bring forth a good end. Her hopeful cleaning dash took much more time and effort than the original task ever would have. The easiest choice would have been to take a few minutes to put each belonging away when finished with it instead of dropping each thing on an ever growing pile. To Giggle, however, the minutes spent in preventive tidying were minutes she could be playing. Therefore, because she is only 5 and didn’t have the maturity to see the larger reality, easy became hard and eventually unpleasant.

Giggle’s choice didn’t end with Giggle. As I looked around the room wondering at her actions, it crept into my head. That’s when I heard a still small voice asking me if I’m really all that different than my dear Giggle? Uhhhhh, I had to admit that no, I’m not even a little bit different. God has told me exactly what choice is the wisest, and I, like Giggle, am too immature to see anything but my own limited perspective. Then, instead of basing my decision on the perspective of my loving Heavenly Father, which He has given in His Word, I base my choice on human understanding.

I could avail myself of God’s unlimited wisdom and understanding but no, I go with how it looks from my vantage point. Even though it has a failure record of 100%. Not only that, just like Giggle, often after choosing foolishly, I feverishly work at doing good things in an attempt to make up for my failings. As if somehow, I can undo the wrong I have already done. And I, just like Giggle will, discover that nothing I do or say can buy forgiveness. It’s all been done. Restoration doesn’t come because of what I do or don’t do. Grace and love restore. Grace and love bring forgiveness full and free. Restoration isn’t earned, it enters on the wings of Grace and Love. Thank You, God for Grace and Yourself (Love). May Giggle and I grow in both Grace and You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Popular Posts