just THROW IT AWAY

It is so funny to me how often God speaks to me through interactions with my kids! Alana, my 20 month old has gotten really good at taking things to the garbage. We'll hand her a diaper we just changed from her or her brother and say: "Alana, go throw that away in the garbage", and she will. It is so cute to watch her little body as she toddles toward the garbage and hear the lid open and close as she makes a deposit, and see her wobble back.

Last night I was feeding her some apple, and as I was cutting off a piece, it fell on the floor. She already had a small piece in her hand, and so I picked up the fallen one and gave it to her as well and repeated the customary command "throw that away in the garbage". I figured that since she already had a good piece in her hand, she would take the piece that might seem perfectly good to her and obey us. She took it from me as normal and headed toward the garbage, but I didn't hear the lid, or see her coming back and so I peeked my head around the corner. I couldn't help but laugh as I saw her stuffing the dirty piece in her mouth as she stood in front of the garbage, she just couldn't let it go. I whispered to my hubby, "look honey, she's chewing on the piece I told her to throw away, that's so gross". And the thing that was crazy was that there I was sitting waiting to give her another clean piece if she would just come back, but she didn't understand. Keith immediately called to her "Alana, that's dirty throw it away". But it was too late, she had already shoved it into her mouth and was happily chewing it.

Then it hit me, you know, we are just like that with God sometimes. We will see something we want but He will tell us to let it go and throw it away. But we will want it so much that we don't trust Him enough to fully obey. We'll pick that dirty thing up off the floor and go and stand in front of the garbage like we're going to but we aren't able to resist as we take it for ourselves. And all the while He's waiting to give us the good clean thing that He has for us.

Well, I know for myself that I definitely want God's best and want to trust Him to give it to me in His time! I think it would be a lot better for all of us if we were willing to let go of the things God says to let go of and just throw them away, because He ALWAYS has better things for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

I'm glad I can trust that God's plans for me are way BETTER than what needs to be thrown in the garbage!