Dear Heavenly Father,
You know my heart, Lord, and You know how crazy the last few days have been. Nothing out of the ordinary has gone on but my mind has been racing. The wheels have been turning non-stop and I haven't been able to turn them off. Thank You, Lord, for moments like this when I can focus on something else. Something much more important and something that makes me feel a whole lot better. You.
I was reading Ephesians 5 today and fell in love. I've read these words several times in my life but I felt like I was reading some of them for the first time today. I feel like I could read Ephesians 5 over and over again and learn something new each time. The verses I wanted to pull out today were Ephesians 5:8-10.
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord."
These verses really spoke to my heart in a number of ways today, Lord. Any verse about children always grabs my attention because I am around children all day watching how they interact with the world and how their little mind works. When You tell us to be like children I often think of the precious innocent hearts of my two little ones and know that's what You want from me.
Live as children of light which means consisting of all goodness, righteousness, and truth. What exactly does that look like, Lord? My two year old does not run around all day being good or righteous. Thankfully, he hasn't learned to lie yet, but I'm guessing we aren't far from that either. But he battles with me daily pushing the boundaries and testing the waters. But I will say that he sees the world in a totally different light than I do and his love for others shines through him. For example, in his eyes no person is any better than the next. A wealthy, well dressed man could be standing next to a fellow who is homeless and my son would not treat one better than the other. Typically my son is very shy, but I remember last Halloween we dressed him up as a Cardinal's baseball player and went to the retirement home that his great grandma is at to do a little trick-or-treating. When we walked in the door the first person to greet us was a man in ratty old clothes, long hair, long beard, a patch over one eye, several tattoos, and sitting in a wheel chair because he only had one leg. This man in a very deep voice with no smile at all looked at my son and said, "Happy Halloween." I thought for sure that my son was going to be scared. I was a bit scared myself to be honest. I just knew that my son would cling to my leg and try to hide his face as we walked passed this man. I was even afraid that he would have nightmares from meeting him, but I wasn't thinking like a child. I was seeing the outside appearance of the man and making my own judgments about him. My son didn't. He smiled and waved and said, "Happy Halloween" back to him then walked on in the building. I was shocked, and a little bit embarrassed at myself for my own thoughts. When we went to leave the retirement home that old man still sat by the door and my son went up and gave him a high five and told him bye. I definitely took a lesson from my lil man that day.
Another example from a child is that they hate to see people hurting. On occassion, when we need my lil man to do something for us and he won't do it, my husband will act as if my son's disobedience makes him so sad that he actually starts crying. My son hates to see his daddy crying and he will quickly do whatever it is that his daddy asked of him just to make sure his daddy is happy again. Am I this way, Lord. Do I do all I can to make sure that others aren't sad? Do I try to help others to bring them happiness? Do I do all that I can to make sure I don't bring You sadness, Lord?
That brings me to the last part of the scripture that really tugs at my heart...."And find out what pleases the Lord."
A few months after my husband and I got married my husband got sick. He had a fever, chills, upset stomach, and he felt just plain miserable. I remember calling his mom to ask her what my husbands likes to eat when he his sick. French toast was her response so I made a special trip to the store to get the fixin's for french toast and hustled home to prepare it for my sweet hubby. I made a special effort to find out what pleases my husband so that I could make him happy, and that is exactly how You want us to be for You, Lord. You tell us several ways in the Bible that we can make You happy. Unfortunately, they aren't easy tasks but I need to focus on them more because pleasing You is the greatest thing in all the world. Being nice to someone who isn't nice to me is easier to do when I have the mindset that I'm working to bring You happiness. Biting my tongue instead of lashing out in anger is easier to do because I know it will make You happy. If I stay in Your Word and keep You on my mind always, then I will be more likely to follow through on these hard tasks and it will make You happy.
I pray, Lord, that You show me how to live as a child of light. Teach me how to be good, righteous, and truthful. Put opportunities in my life that I can practice these qualities and help me improve on them each day. And, Lord, I pray that I make You proud, not because it will make me feel good, but because it will make You happy. I love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
*From Google pictures*
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