Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
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My daughter, being the apparent (hereditary) overachiever that she is, hit the Terrible Twos early.
Several months before her second birthday, it was like a switch was flipped and she learned the power of a tantrum.
We went from moderately peaceful breakfasts to complete, total, utter meltdowns because she wanted a different color of cheese. (Like I am supposed to know THAT?)
In all honesty, her tantrums really aren’t terrible… But if you ever stop by during one of these meltdowns, you will probably witness me talking to the ceiling, sighing heavily, rolling my eyes and muttering something like, “Lord in heaven… Are you serious right now?”
My sweet daughter is probably a pretty typical toddler– and as much as I sigh and roll my eyes… I have to say that I am probably no better than her some days.
Granted, you probably won’t find me having a kicking, screaming meltdown on aisle three of the grocery store because they are out of my favorite cracker. (Although if I am having an extra hard day, I make no guarantees.)
But I must admit– I DO have spiritual temper tantrums from time to time.
The other day, I ran across Psalm 131 in The Message:
“I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.”
This spoke to me profoundly in two different ways. First, my heart swelled with anticipation when I thought about intentionally cultivating a quiet heart in my everyday as I pursue REST this year. Honestly, I pray that I can honestly say that when this year comes to a close (or am at least well on my way to knowing what that looks like.)
The other portion that really got me pumped was this though about being content in the arms of Jesus, just like my daughter is content in mine. The NIV version says, “Like a weaned child I am content.”
What a warm and fuzzy feeling, right? Gave me all the feels… for about 8 seconds until God chimed in.
In a flash, I had a vision of my darling “weaned child” daughter in my arms– in the midst of an epic tantrum.
Her legs were flailing, she was squalling at the top of her lungs, head bobbing, getting alarmingly close to my head (ouch in advance.) Body stiffening, squirming, arms flapping. She was doing everything she could to get free from my grasp.
And God really convicted me– because that is what my spirit does with Him sometimes.
UG. Who ordered the sucker punch!?!?
God, our loving Father, our Heavenly Parent invites us into His arms every single day. And as much I would love to say that I always humbly and lovingly climb onto His lap to snuggle and read a good book (Or THE Good Book) it doesn’t always happen like that.
Oftentimes, I am metaphorically flailing, fighting, squalling, screaming “NO NO NO!” just because I can.
Sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, SIGH.
I know how frustrated I get with my little one when she does throws a tantrum. But I am grateful that God holds onto us until we calm down– He never let’s go, never snaps, never stomps off to the kitchen to raid the stash of chocolate.
God’s grace covers us– even on the days when we throw a spiritual tantrum.
So that is our current heart challenge: Are we behaving like a weaned child content in the arms of our parent as we cultivate a quiet heart– or are we still fighting, flailing and yelling to do things our own way? What changes do we need to make to reduce our frequency and intensity of spiritual tantrums? I always welcome feedback. Leave a comment.
Next time we are on the verge of a tantrum, let’s be proactive– give ourselves a timeout then return to the arms of the Lord, ready to REST in Him like the ever-maturing children we are.
Tempering my Tantrums in my Everyday,
“As a mother comforts her child so will I comfort you…” ~Isaiah 66:13a NIV
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