“Mommy, I’m tired. I can’t do it. I don’t know how. It is too much. It’s too hard. Help me”

These were the excuses Raelyn gave me after she pulled out all her toys and I told her it was time to clean up. Periodically, when I walked in her room and saw more toys out each time, I even warned her that she would have to pick up ALL her toys by herself. She said, “Ok, I love cleaning”. I even mentioned picking up the ones she was done playing with so it would not be so hard later on. She did not like my advice. It was more fun to have them all out at once. When it was time to clean up, her room was a total mess. She wanted to ride her bike and we were in a race against daylight. You could barely see her floor. 

For starters, she is completely blessed with way too many toys but guess what? You guessed it, she wants more. She had made a mess. Her room was total chaos. Browder walked in and was tripping over everything. He would cry every time he fell down. Raelyn started crying when she realized the mess she made and was responsible for picking up her own mess. She was overwhelmed. She started giving me every reason why she could not pick up on her own. But, “oh you love cleaning” I said. “I didn’t mean it” she said. I had to laugh when she said, “I don’t know how to pick up”. She had no problem figuring out how to pull everything out of her drawers. Why could she not figure out how to put it back in her drawers?

I was not about to go back on my word. She was responsible for her own mess but I sat down and showed her….as I’ve down countless times before…how to put a toy back in the drawer. I went back to the kitchen. It was not good enough. She still screamed. I went back into her room and said, “I will sit here and watch you put the toys in your drawers like I showed you”. I also let her know she was wasting her own time. She had spent more time in her mess just crying when she could have been picking up. She calmed down and started cleaning. She talked to me to pass the time. She just needed me to be there. She eventually picked up and went outside to ride her bike. 

I realized I am the same way with God. He guides me in His word but I try to do it my way. When it doesn’t work out my way….which it never does…I see my mess and give God every excuse. I expect Him to clean my mess. I have no problem making my mess but then I cannot figure out how to clean up after myself. I want God to fix it for me. I treat Him like He is my personal maid. That is not how it works. 

God shows us how not to make a mess with our lives through His word. He sets perimeters to protect us. My kids think I’m a buzz-kill because I won’t let them jump on the furniture. I set that rule so they won’t hurt themselves or ruin the furniture.  It’s to protect them. God is the same way with us. It’s not to ruin our fun but to protect us. Sex outside of marriage gets messy. Being drunk can have effects on our health, can cause unnecessary arguments, can put other lives’ in danger. Lying, cheating, stealing, jealousy, bitterness can all ruin friendships. It can ruin everything. Our mess can cause harm to others. 

In the end, we want God to clean up our mess. God has already cleaned up our mess in that “while we were sinners Christ died for us” so that we could stand blameless before the Lord. We still are responsible for the consequences of our sin but if we repent and confess the name of Jesus then we can stand blameless before God. God promises He will be with us. Doesn’t mean He is going to do the work for us (because He already has) but He will be there and guide us every step up the way. We just have to listen. When we realize God is with us it makes our circumstances bearable. When Raelyn realized I was in the room with her, she still had a mess. Her circumstances did not change but her attitude did. Made the process a little easier. It’s the same with God. He gives us peace, joy, and patience to make our circumstance not seem as impossible. 

Lord, thank you for always being with me and I’m sorry for treating you like a maid.