T’was the night before Thanksgiving. Bob and I had just returned from our mid week Bible study. We had left our dog (well, actually, my daughter’s dog) in the house alone. Forgetting that Maya (aka Puppy) loves to misbehave while we are gone, she somehow managed to reach the top of my kitchen counter and drag off the newly purchased dessert intended for our after dinner coffee. It was a lovely box of Baklava. You know, that wonderful flaky pastry, full of nuts and some sort of sticky syrup.
She didn’t just consume the box of goodies in the kitchen…….no!! She took each piece of the dessert to a different location….two pieces on my sofa in the living room; a couple of pieces downstairs on a chair; and even deposited several on a bed of freshly made sheets. The sticky, sweet, flaky pastry was now all over my house which I had just dutifully cleaned in anticipation for the feast the following day.
Needless to say, I was not a happy lady. I tried counting my blessings as I swept and scrubbed early the next morning. I thought to myself. There must be a lesson in this for me….I really was too angry at both the dog and myself (for the leaving the baklava on the counter) to imagine how this could apply to my faith.
Well, I could see something here. I am just like that dog. Wanting things I shouldn’t have or that aren’t even good for me. Just thinking I might get away with it… as if God wouldn’t find out. Being naughty when I think He isn’t looking. Desiring just one more of something I really don’t need but imagining how my life would be more complete if I just had it!
So now God comes in to clean me up. He can take the sticky, sweet syrup of those “desires” and teach me that what I really wanted wasn’t important after all. Sometimes he has to scrub me clean. Ouch!
Hebrews 12:6 (NLT)”For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.”
I can’t punish the poor dog. I still accept her wagging tail and happy woof when we come back home…….even after she has ruined my dessert!
How much more does God love me…….even with the syrup still on my face!!
AbideLines 