Treasures in God’s hand

I’m watching grandbabies today, and as has become the case quite often, I often hear God’s voice speaking to my spirit as I speak words of love and instruction to them.  Today’s case in point:

We have a certain structure of our days here, and simple rules to keep some sort of order or routine.  We use our big girl/boy words to communicate, not our attitude or body language, or crying; we get treats IF we finish our food, and if we choose not to finish our food, we don’t get treats by crying about it.   Often, how happy we are is completely dependent on our obedience and our ability to wait.

Today, the youngest did finish his lunch, and was eagerly pursuing Grammie’s attention for gaining access to the treat jar. Reminders to be patient fell on completely deaf ears, as clearly, there was only one goal here, getting that candy.  Once he got it, away he ran to consume it.  Since it was wrapped, and he is not quite 2yo yet, I offered to help.  His answer (in his growing collection of big boy words, of course):  “No.  Don’t help.  Grammie.”  And he was able to get it unwrapped.  His second piece (Grammie’s a pushover, lol) was not so easy to do all by himself, so again, I offered, and again, his reply was the same, in not so many words, No thanks, Grammie, I can handle this on my own, don’tcha know?  His frustration mounted at his unsuccessful efforts, and the attitude appeared, but he continued to stubbornly refuse help.  “No, Grammie”.  Now, Grammie’s patience is not what it should be, so at some point,,,I imposed help, much to the little guys annoyance.  I quickly had it unwrapped, and interrupted his protests with a sweet treasure, ready for him to devour.

We are told that God’s ways are not our ways. God has His own structure, and sense of order and routine.  He has his own agenda for what His children need in order to best serve Him and to grow in grace, and He is always on time with His gifts and callings.  Aren’t we like toddlers sometimes with God and His ways?  We are anxious to receive the treasures from God’s hand, and try to unwrap them in our own strength and time.  When God asks “can I help you with that?” we stubbornly continue in our own wisdom and strength, and cry out in impatience when we fail.  It’s as true for us as it is for children that how content and happy we are in this life largely depends on our own ability to depend and wait on the Lord.