Jonah 3:17 When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn’t carry out the destruction he had threatened. I think this is the essential message of the Gospels, here in the Old Testament. People repent and God has mercy. God doesn’t want to punish people. He just wants us to realize that our way is wrong and follow His way which is better. He wants to show mercy. It’s like with my children. I want them to be obedient and I want to be merciful because I really don’t like having to discipline them. I know it’s necessary because if they don’t obey, they could get hurt. And on that note, Mr. G is up and about….
Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, Lord, that a person’s life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. Ok, I know you’re thinking, what does food poisoning have to do with anything? Nothing, really, except that it’s my excuse for not posting anything yesterday. I know it wasn’t a punishment or anything, but boy, it would have been effective! I’m still reeling from it (and so is my husband – it sure was fun taking care of two little boys when we had food poisoning!). Anyways, I thought this verse was perfect for those times when I feel like I’ve been living in the desert because I’m living the consequences of my poor decisions. (Interesting aside: while writing I debated about whether to write “poor” or “bad” decisions. I chose “poor” because it sounded more proper and less harsh, but really, the decisions are just plain bad.) I know that correction is necessary. I discipline my children whether I like it or not, because it’s necessary to keep them safe and to show them the proper way to interact with the world. They hate it. My oldest son (who just turned two) starts screaming and throws himself on the floor when he is fussed at or disciplined in any way. It takes about 5 minutes and then he’ll come over and want to snuggle, but initially he is really mad (or maybe upset that he disappointed us) and doesn’t want much to do with whoever disciplined him. We do that with God. I know that I’ll do something stupid, God allows the consequences of my actions to catch up with me, and I get mad at Him for doing it. Thankfully, God loves us and doesn’t just throw up His hands in disgust. So, my prayer, like Jeremiah’s, is for God to be gentle in His correction and not correct me in anger, because I am just a small human and cannot stand up to the wrath of God. Right now, I think I’m feeling the consequences of my actions (no, not the food poisoning, the financial spot we’re in). It’s been really, really hard. But, like I put in my last post, I’m not going to look back at the reasons I am here (I already know those reasons and don’t need to sit here rehashing them over and over and over); I am going to look ahead and try to learn from my mistakes so that I can move forward, hopefully out of correction and in a new direction. Lord, be gentle, please!
This isn’t a verse post, but rather a thought (both boys were up early making quiet time short and sweet). As a parent I know how I feel about my children. I understand why I say “no” and discipline them. I know why I try to get them to eat certain foods and eschew others. And, God is supposed to be our father, right? So, I try to imagine that the reason that He does things, like saying “no” to things I want or letting me go through things (like when we go through something with our children even though they don’t want to – like getting back on the swing even if they fell off and got a little spooked). It’s a lot harder to remember that God loves me more than I love my two boys, especially when I don’t understand what’s going on. But, then again, my boys don’t understand everything I do or why either. So I guess I need to remember more and think about my relationship with my boys. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them, although when I discipline them it’s not fun (albeit for their own protection and good). And God is that way, too. It’s amazing the things you realize as a parent (like how much my own parents knew… LOL!).