And if the excitement in her voice wasn't convincing enough, her spindly arms constricting my mid-section only made it that much more believable. The consistent bouncing of her little tiny frame from the balls of her feet only added more emphasis to the words she had just shouted. A broad smile proudly showing off a missing expanse of teeth on bottom was plastered from one ear to the other.
It's an expression I hear often from our eldest fair-headed one. The brave one who isn't afraid to voice her emotions or let us know how she's really feeling.
But of course she was excited. Of course, I was THE BEST MOM EVER!
A package arrived in the mail that day containing a dress she'd only been pining over for well over a year.
The ever lovely maxi-dress.
I would be lying if I tried telling you I haven't fallen under its illustrious charms. So flow-y, so pretty… and so mischievously modest.
There has been much talk of The Dress since it arrived in our home. There has been much planning and deliberating as to when The Dress will be worn. And each time The Dress comes up in conversation, the same amount of enthusiasm escapes from that precious girl's mouth, like it has a will of its own.
But it's an expression I rarely hear from that lispy little voice when we're in the throws of disciplining. There's no tightly wound limbs around my pudgy middle section when we discuss what shenanigans were had with her little brother and sister while she was busy learning at school. The balls of her feet don't encourage the rest of her slender frame to bounce with joy when we don't cater to every request.
Sometimes, there's weeping and gnashing of teeth and all things un-pretty you can imagine coming from a child who has not gotten their way. Sometimes, there's a sorrowful nod of the head as if merely saying the words "okay" is putting forth too much effort. Sometimes, she buries the hurt and doesn't react nearly at all on the surface.
And it got me to thinking….
How do I react when my requests to my Heavenly Father are not answered in the fashion I fancy?
Is it my automatic response to leap with joy and proclaim, "You are God, and YOU ARE THE BEST EVER!!"
Or do I act like a foolish child struggling with inner-turmoil? Or do I act like a foolish child and put on a production that is sure to give any Broadway number a run for its money? Or do I act like a foolish child and answer with a solemn nod of my head?
There are a myriad of reasons why I don't automatically cave and cater to my child's every want or desire. Sometimes, its an issue of money. Sometimes, its an issue of convenience. But more often than not, its an issue of knowing it is for their good.
Now, doesn't God, who is infinitely Better and infinitely Wiser and infinitely Perfect, have the right to refuse to cater to my ever flimsy wish or withering craving… not out of hateful spite.. but out of Loving GOODNESS?
May I be so bold and unwavering in my Faith in a loving God to joyfully exclaim "You are the BEST EVER," when He lavishes things aplenty on me.
May I be so bold and unwavering in my Faith in a loving God to joyfully exclaim "You are the BEST EVER," still when He chooses to not appease my appetite for things out of His loving kindness and for my good.
He truly is THE BEST EVER.
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures," James 4:3
"LORD, all my desire is before You, and my sighing is not hidden from you," Psalm 38:9
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