I Am Only A Child

Sweet face: true
I love her: true
She reminds me of myself when I was little: true
She never has mischievous moments: FALSE

Meet my niece, Addie.
Addie really likes to draw.
She is really good at it too.
I am impressed with the way this four year old stays inside the lines.

Now that I am done raving I do have to admit that sometimes she is so ready to color she doesn't even wait to have a piece of paper in front of her and instead draws on whatever she feels.
Yeah, she doesn't always think things through.

It was probably a couple of months ago when I came into the living room only to find a four year old eying the t.v. and running a pencil across the cream colored carpet floor at the same time. Trust me, some serious "time out" action was taken quickly. Drawing on things that are not paper is something we usually frown upon in this household. But it didn't stop there. It was a struggle to actually get her in time out. Yes, if you can believe it there was resistance on her part, lots of tears, and very loud noises coming from her tiny body.

Although she was not okay with me sending her to time out, it was something that had to be done. I'm sure she thought I was a horrible person for punishing her. Her mind is just too little to understand the importance, and that I am really doing so because I love her and want her to grow into the best person she can be.

When her time out was finished I called her over and asked her why she drew on the carpet.

"Because I didn't have any paper."

Wow, that was the answer?
She didn't have any paper?
We did have paper, it was just in the drawer!
How easy could this whole situation have been avoided if she only would have asked me if she could have a piece of paper to begin with?
I would have given her the paper and she would have been set. Instead, she decided to handle it on her own, resulting in punishment, a lesson (hopefully) learned, tears, and messed up carpet.

I think about this and it's so simple.
Just ask.
That's all.
Simple...right?

You would think so, but so often do I find myself as the child in this situation.
I forget that all I really need to do is ask.

God's Word tells us this...

"Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Still, a lot of the time I seem to go about it the same way Addie went about the paper situation. I see there is a problem, something unknown, something missing, and I try to fix it on my own. I may think it would take too much time to ask my Father, or maybe I just forget that I can ask or that He loves me so much and wants me to turn out the best I can, therefore He will answer me. I think my mind is too small to understand what He knows and why He does things the way He does. After the fact there may be punishment, a lesson (again, hopefully) learned, tears, and a mess left to clean up, all because I chose to take matters into my own hands.

I say it again, I am still only a child.
I pray to God for Him to work in me and for me to rely on Him more and more before there is once again, a "mess on the carpet" needing to be cleaned up.


Hakuna Matata