Question: Do all other children (besides my oldest two) always want to play on the total opposite side of the pool from the lawn chairs?? My other ones always played right where I was when they were little; they felt safe. Safe was something they desired...yea, longed for.
Oh no. Not this young one. Lil'bit wants to push every boundary as far as it will possibly go. This has been true since he could walk. One time I took him to a birthday party at a park. A very LARGE park. Open and wide and vast. Have I made my point? Other kids were sliding down the blunt hills on flattened cardboard boxes - sounds like fun, right? Oh, no. Not him. He wanted to see if the earth is flat. I hardly said more than "hello!" and "bye!" to the other moms there. The rest of my time there was spent retrieving my not-quite-two year old.
Fond memories. (insert sarcasm here) So anyway...
My child insists on putting at least 57 other children and countless gallons of water between himself and the only human there that's conscious of his existence. Smart? Maybe not. Boundary stretching? You bet. It's what he does best.
So I now have a one-sided tan from sitting on the side of the pool instead of "flipping" in my reclining chair. Sigh. But here's something he DID learn to do:
Yeah, Lil'bit! This is very new for him. He's always pushing the boundaries, but they always stopped at the edge of the pool before. Until today. Needless to say, every time he jumped, the next one was just a little further down...a little deeper.
So I started thinking: Since we are children of God, and we tend to behave like it (more like children, less like God), how do I push the boundaries He's set for me? Surely I do, and don't realize the danger lurking out there in the deep water. Or in the woods surrounding the open area that I'm supposed to stay in.
It didn't take much thinking, ya'll, and it became quite clear. Because for me, when I try and try to do things on my own, setting aside the workings of the Holy Spirit within me, I am pushing those boundaries. When I try to be a good mom in my own self - boundary pusher. Anyone with me on this? I have determined that no matter how hard I try to be in a good mood, try to be a calm, supportive wife, try to extend patience, I am really seeking to do it my way, which is to say I search for forbidden land and water. Dangerous land and water. When all the while, my Father in Heaven is pulling me back, calling me back, reeling me in. Keeping me safe.
Maybe I'll just stay on the other side of the pool, close to Him.
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