fresh flowers for Aug 31

It's All About Him
copyright 2006, lani wiens
a fresh flowers original

Having six children gives me a great opportunity to observe and learn about different personalities and their individual needs. I have in my menagerie:

- one intense child with a low frustration tolerance who can be very oppositional and defiant, this same child is very hospitable, generous and compassionate
- one mostly quiet child who keeps himself busy with little outside involvement but tends to give others control over his life, he is extremely inquisitive and when he wants your attention it is hard to ignore him - his voice can resemble a foghorn at times
- one child who is helpful and cheerful most of the time but when crossed can be mean and viscious, greatly concerned for the welfare of younger siblings so long as they don't take what she wants
- one clown who is stubborn as the day is long, this one is very difficult to peg down to a pattern and keeps us guessing and laughing and panicking over what he might do next
- one very helpful child who can be extremely responsible one minute and extremely irresponsible the next, easily distracted on some things and hard to break his focus on others, doesn't really care what people think of somethings and very concerned on others, a child of the pendulum swing
- We've yet to discover the personality intricacies of the baby.

Much of my time is spent just trying to keep one step ahead of this crew. I fail quite often. It seems like too much a lot of the time. Realizing how difficult it is to predict and/or meet the needs of these six individuals, how does God manage the world, not to mention the vast multitudes of the unseen host of heaven and hell? While I can sometimes guess right as to what my children need at any given moment I'm right a very small percent of the time. Our God is never wrong! He gets it right the first time every time. That is mind boggling. He quiets my anxious heart, he comforts me, he puts something funny in my path to cheer me up, he challenges me when I get lazy. And he doesn't get tired of it. All he asks is that we seek him first.

I'm afraid I'm too often like my little clown. One night I was singing to him with a vain hope that he might actually go to sleep. He had no intention of going to sleep and kept up a litany of things he'd rather be doing. I sang anyway. I was part way through, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" when I hear him mutter, "That's a stupid song." I wasn't shocked quiet, I kept singing and then started laughing. It struck my funny bone so hard I couldn't stop. The chorus goes like this, "It's all about you, Jesus. And all this is for you..." Know wonder he thought it was stupid, he wanted it to be about him and he was mad that it wasn't. I want it to be all about me a lot of the time, too. I get uptight trying to figure everyone out every day and get them what they need and then get to feeling like know one's takin' care of me. Where does this thinking get me? No where but down in the dumps. My focus has gone from seeking him first to seeking how to get myself first. But God in heaven has already seen my frustration and his answer is on the way before I have even prayed.

All of this really is for him. All the wiping of noses, cooking of meals, planning of days and moments is for him. It really isn't about me, it's about teaching my kids to see his glory and his fame. So I'll get back on my knees and ask for a little help in figuring out these six creatures and leave the rest up to him.