Remind me why I have taken three days off?!
To spend time with my children.
Thank God he doesn’t need to take time off to spend time with me. I have certainly been lacking in patience today.
So what’s happened today that tested my patience? Answer: Son 2.
The day started off relatively good. My daughter (child 4) and her older brother (son 3) got up at a reasonable time, and having helped themselves to some Weetabix, quietly watched some cartoons. I was so touched by how quiet they were being because they didn’t want to disturb me. It was after all, an alarmless day!
The quietness didn’t last for very long. They become impatient that their older brothers were still in bed and they wanted to go on a nature walk. Now!
Cue Son 1 to bounce out of bed with a massive smile on his face, rested and ready to face the day with a false enthusiasm for a nature walk. He acts well.
Son 2 was not impressed, and didn’t for one moment hide this fact. He had well and truly got out of bed on the wrong side. Stamp. Thump. Bang. Crash. Thud. All the way down the stairs.
Son 1 made and ate breakfast. Son 2 threw himself into the chair. Son 1 got dressed and started his morning chores, happily chatting to his sister about the things we were going to find. Son 2 tapped his feet and huffed.
Well things weren’t getting done. We had lunch and still stamping and huffing came from Son 2. Everyone was starting to get annoyed. Executive decision time. We are going out. I know chores haven’t been done. I don’t care, shoes and coats on.
The two youngest were excited, the eldest was “excited”, but Son 2 wasn’t.
Finally. We are out the door. We are on our way to the common. We are going to hunt for treasure (AKA conkers, acorns, fir cones and pine cones).
Wow. We didn’t find any conkers, or acorns. But we did find a bag full of fir cones. Beautiful fir cones in all sizes and stages of openess.
We climbed trees. I found out my boots were slippery. I had no grip. I slid down. We stamped in puddles. Ok, the youngest two ran through the puddles, kicking water up at each other. A lady walking her dog tutted. Asked me if they were my children making their clothes dirty? Well yes. Yes, my children were playing. Together. Laughing.
Surely that should have been the focus? Well not to this lady, she was nowhere near the splashing as she was talking to me, and I certainly wasn’t going to get in splash range wearing my oh-so-unsuitable for the common boots.
Anyway, all of this has got me thinking. How many times do we quietly approach God, then get impatient when our requests go unheard? Unanswered? How often is our enthusiasm a fountain of joy to be with God? Or do we come into God’s presence with an exterior air of enthusiasm, but it’s all an act? Do we come kicking and screaming?
Are we ready to climb up to him, and conquer the troubles of this land. Going out to get dirty and wet to reach those in need, or do we hide behind our uniforms (Salvationists) or smart Sunday wear?
All I know with any certainty today, is God never questions why he is spending time with us. He really does want to be with us through everything. He doesn’t save us to sit safely, quietly doing nothing, but calls us to get dirty in helping the fight to save other souls.
My prayer for you today is that you meet with God with pure enthusiastic joy. That you delight in the wonders of his creation. And that you roll your sleeves up and get dirty. May you too, survive the chaos.