Jesus & Mini-Blinds

Raise your hand if you've experienced the continual chasing around of a wee little lad (or lassie)? Whew! That is our present phase. As Zekee scurries over to Grandma's laptop resting on the floor & begins to chew on the power cord, it's, "No Zeke, NO!" Pick him up, sit him in the middle of the floor with his toys & now we're onto the fireplace where he's crawled up to remove candles. Again, "Zekee, no, no!" Back to the center of the room he goes. I've turned my head one moment at he's now at the end table reaching for the GLASS Candy Jar where he's soon to hit his head on the corner of the table as well as more than likely, knock the candy jar off, break it, be surrounded in shattered glass all while trying to shove his mouth full of M&M's (fortunately this has not happened...yet). Here we go again, "EZEKIEL, NO!!" Finally, I can take a breath. Nope, hold on...now he's at the TV pulling the cabinet doors open - he's now smashed his fingers in between & is screaming with tears pouring down his face. Surely he's learned a lesson. OK, maybe not. He's back at it again. This time, pressing the buttons on the DISH Network box ready to cut our programming off for the night. I've stepped away for 5 seconds & when I left he was gnawing on his socks that he'd removed from his feet. Not the best of ideas but hey, at least he's not bothering anything that he shouldn't be. I've walked back in sight to find his interest in his socks has passed & he's yanking on the mini-blinds. Great...now he's broken them...snapped a blind right into two. Every time we turn around, we're saying "No, no, no, no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Yes, this is our life right now & the above mentioned have all taken place over the course of these last few days. After feeling frustrated with the fact that Zeke had broken the mini-blinds & we now get to spend money replacing them for my parents, I began to think. Parenthood is unveiling my eyes to the Father's love for us in ways like my eyes have never been opened before. How many times do we embark upon a territory where God has graciously put red flags, caution signs & even stop lights to tell us "NO" & just as little Zeke does with us, we turn around, smile & continue about our business because curiosity has gotten the best of us or what we see looks too appealing to walk away from? Our Heavenly Father has given us guidelines to follow not out of anger towards us but out of love for us - to keep us clear of danger, of things that may harm us. We are quick to cry out in agony when we're suffering yet we have no desire to look into His face when He says, "No, no my beloved child, stay away from there or you'll get hurt" & walk away then letting out a sigh of relief & gratitude thanking Him for his warning to us & His love that is so deep that He desires the very best for us. Now, by no means am I saying that God does not allow us to walk through trials. He's assured us in His Word that it is not a matter "if" trials will come our way but rather, promises that they will & that He will walk with us through each one of them. What I am saying is, there is a lot of pain that could be prevented if we would simply listen & obey instead of giving God a "Hey, I'm gonna do this anyway!"

As I mentioned, my frustration was great over the blinds (I'd be lying if I said it wasn't still - I'm deadest on him not destroying anything else). Patience has never been my forte' . I'm reminded though, to be like Jesus is to be patient. Patience = Love. At times, I just want to know what I can do to get Zeke to obey. I want to know why he won't leave things alone (I know why...he's a typical 9 month old explorer!). I'm reminded of how many times in a day I disobey the very One who has blessed NP & myself with our lil' man. Sadly, those times far outnumber the times Zekee has to be gotten onto in a day. Still, the Lord doesn't get angry at me. He doesn't scream & yell losing every ounce of patience. No, He is loving, compassionate - as Psalm 103:8 states, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Just as we tell our sweet Ezekiel, "No" & pick him up, hug him & let him know how much we love him, our Father does so repeatedly without us recognizing it. Thank You, Father, for Your mercy extended to us even when we run the opposite direction from You. Help me to be patient, loving, compassionate, slow to anger & merciful to our precious son. Less of me, more of  You. Thank You for using our little ball of energy that is constantly on the go, go, go to awaken me to old truths about You that I so needed reminded of. Now, onto pondering Christmas presents & how these will stay neatly wrapped (or wrapped at all) in the presence of Mr. Inquisitive...Haha!