Anger, frustration, and disappointment are always the easiest response to a child who chooses sin, it comes spilling out, boiling over from the heart, a toxic wasteland…
After early baths all the kids were ready for bed so we could have a nice, quiet, peaceful night. As the kids were rough housing on the floor (yes, quiet and peaceful of course) I began to smell a smell around my newly bathed daughter. When I inspected further I realized that she had an accident. In my exaustion, I responded in anger and spewed out of my discouraged heart.
Words that painted an ugly reality because I let anger lead….
After calming down, I went in and apologized for my quick response that lacked grace and assured her of my love. I didn’t dismiss her behavior because her choice of laziness over responsibility needed to be addressed, but more than that, she needed me to see PAST her failures to her BRILLIANT FUTURE.
She needs ME to see it because I am pretty sure she has no idea how amazing she really is.
In her blindness she needs a picture of current hope and future joy painted for her.
Don’t we all long for someone to do this for us?
I am an adult and most days I have a hard time pushing past my inadequacies and failures to see the good God wants and decrees in my life. If we struggle to see it, how much more do they?
Our children need us to paint a picture of their present worth and their future value, because we are our children’s ARTIST. They look to us to help paint their picture, and we should be painting a BEAUTIFUL ONE.
What I have learned as the artist is that there are days that I need a change of perspective. When I can only see the dark lines of the picture, I am simply too close to the canvas. When the work seems too hard and beauty is illusive I have to step back and yield to the real Artist who can always create beauty from the ashes of life.
The Father, with paint brush in hand, is never short of beauty, joy, and hope. He has the perfect perspective and isn’t caught up in all the dark stuff, because He is light. I just need to ask to see as He does, for Him to take a strong hold of my heart and my hand and teach me to paint. Because it is privilege to be the painter, the tangible hand that can help edit the lines, draw out beauty, and set before my children a vision of hope and the promise of a glorious future.
