Stepping on LEGOS
Parenting is not for the weak. I recall one evening going through the nightly routine. After 45 minutes of baths, story reading, prayers, and generally trying to get small boys to calm down and sleep, I walked back towards my own bedroom. Halfway down the hallway, I managed to step on a toy LEGO sitting in less than a square inch of the entire hallway. As my mind pondered through the odds of stepping on a single LEGO in the whole hallway, I hopped and hobbled my way back to my own bed.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I rubbed my throbbing foot, and in my tired mind, I wondered if I'd ever be able to get children to pick up their own toys. It felt useless, and I felt a sense of failure. What was the goal anyway? A clean house or something else, a happy house. Clearly, struggling each night was not the latter. It had to be something else. Convinced that the goal was to grow children who were self-controlled and ready for adulthood, was my final conclusion. Then I thought of how God must feel as He works to build me into a Christ-like person. A person who has self-discipline. A person who has spiritual discipline!
The apostle Peter, on the day of Pentecost, stood and delivered the first recorded message to the people of Jerusalem (Acts 2:14). They had just crucified Jesus, and as they started to realize what they had done, I could sense fear and remorse in their tone. They wanted to know what they could do to restore their relationship with God. They wanted reconciliation. Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, had God's answer, Repent and be baptized. This was more than just remorse. Repentance is not in the tears. It is a life-changer. A life that turns from sin and the world toward God.
As I pondered that thought, it occurred to me. Spiritual discipline starts with repentance, but it does not end there. I must be open to the teaching and discipline of God's Word and Spirit. I am the unruly child, with a patient Father following and guiding me. Was I learning my lessons?
Is God still stepping on LEGOs in the hallway of my life?
