Price of a Potty

It’s been 22 years since I potty-trained my youngest child. The details are murky, but I do remember two things: (1) candy was part of it, and (2) all 7 of them got it done.

Today my bathroom once again has a child’s potty in it. Emerald has shown signs of readiness, so Birgitta and I bought two, one for her home and one for mine.

IMG_5332The day I bought them, I stacked the identical potties inside each other on the store check-out belt. But when I got home, I’d been charged for only one. The checker must have swiped them simultaneously.

A 34-mile round trip separated me from the nearest Walmart, and I didn’t have time to head back, but I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t straighten it out.

What bothered me most was knowing I’d have to convince Customer Service to take the $10 I owed. I’ve learned from past experience it’s not always easy to be honest. I considered dropping $10 into the church offering on Sunday to clear my guilt, but by the next day, I knew what I had to do.

While awaiting my turn at Customer Service I rehearsed my lines. “This may sound funny, but I owe you $10.” Or, “I never paid for this potty and want to pay now.”

Customer ServiceThen I thought about the receipt in my hand, knowing the check-out girl’s identity was encoded there. Would my desire for a clean conscience cost her her job? Maybe I should just walk through the aisles and place my potty back on the shelf, which would cancel my debt. Better yet, I could walk to a check-out counter and just buy it again.

No doubt God was getting a good chuckle watching me ride my moral merry-go-round.

Scripture teaches us to do the right thing, labeling it “righteousness.” We shouldn’t have to argue ourselves into it but should just practice it without pause, never worrying about the response of others. In the process, we’ll develop positive character traits that please God. Doing the right thing isn’t usually easy, but once we make it our default behavior, it takes less and less effort.

When it was finally my turn at Customer Service, the young girl there furrowed her brow as I stumbled over my words trying to land somewhere between criminal (shoplifter?) and saint (too honest). Bracing myself for resistance, I was thrilled when she simply said, “No problem.”

IMG_5331She swiped the potty, collected my money, and handed me a receipt. As I turned to go she said, “Good thing you came back and paid for it. If you hadn’t, your granddaughter might never have gotten trained.”

Didn’t think of that one.

 

“He who speaks the truth declares righteousness.” (Proverbs 12:17)

Out to Get You!

When we use the expression, “He’s out to get you,” it always has a negative connotation…. unless we’re using it with a young child.

One of Emerald’s favorite games is for me to reach my arms toward her and say, “I’m gonna get-chu!”

Gonna get-chu!Then, with tiny footsteps, I’ll “chase” her across the room while she runs as fast as her little legs will carry her. She giggles and squeals, looking over her shoulder to be sure I’m still coming, and when I finally grab her, she throws her head back in pure pleasure, happy to have been “gotten.”

Long ago Pastor Colin Smith described God doing his own version of “get-chu.” He started with the example of a mother calling her children to dinner. As she projects her voice toward the family room she says, “Come to the table, kids. Dinner’s ready!”

But, busy with other things, they might not respond. So she calls a second time. Maybe a third. Finally, she leaves the kitchen and literally goes and gets them.

God calls to us much like that mother, but we’re often so wrapped up in doing other things that we don’t move in his direction. Even if we do hear him, we might not come. Thankfully, though, he often decides he’s just going to “go and get” us.

In the Gospels Jesus tells a story that matches this model. A shepherd watching over 100 sheep leaves the 99 to “go and get” the one who’s lost. How amazing to realize the fervency of his love for each of us.

I love playing “get-chu” with Emerald. It’s interesting, though, that something strange happens just before I nab her. As I’m getting close, she whirls around to face me and then throws herself into my arms. Every time.

Get-chu!Why is this? Is the suspense of being caught so strong she can’t wait? Or is the anticipated hug so appealing she wants it “now?” Or is there a twinge of nervousness in the chase that prompts her to check again that grandma still loves her?

Whatever the reason, I hope if I’m ever running from God that as I sense he’s coming to get me, I’ll turn and run straight into him. Or maybe I’ll do what Emerald sometimes does, initiating a round of “get-chu.” She’ll say, “MeeMee, I’m gonna get-chu!” and then she’ll turn and run away. What she really means is, “You come and get me!”

I believe that’s in the heart of all of us. We want a closeness to God but often don’t know how to get there. “If only he’d come and get me,” we think.

The good news is, if we really want him to, he will.

Jesus said, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.” (Luke 15:4-6)

Mary’s Thoughts on Fear

The last couple of days we’ve been listening to a patient’s view of living with deadly cancer. Tonight Mary shares what works for her in fending off fear:

*              *              *              *              *              *              *              *              *

Whenever fear creeps into my thoughts, I know it hasn’t come from God. The Bible flat-out says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7) So if it doesn’t come from him, it’s coming from my enemy, Satan. Because of that, I need to quickly reject it, making sure fear doesn’t take hold of me. The honest truth, though, is that I’ve had to struggle hard against it.

One fear that’s assaulted me multiple times this year centers around my grandchildren. When they first heard I had cancer, they began praying God would heal me. So my concern is that after I die, these trusting children might be angry with God for not answering their prayers, and turn against him.

With ten grandsRight now they’re praying in the no-holds-barred way children do, which is why I worry. After I’m gone, I envision them asking, “If God loves me, why did he let my grandma die?” I want them all to love him no matter what happens with me, but that isn’t always easy for a child. Though I know I can’t control their lives, I have to fight fear over this issue.

I have to repeatedly remember that their relationships with the Lord are in his capable hands. My continual prayer is for their faith to hold and even somehow grow as a result of my death. I’m thankful for God’s reminder that he’s caring for them now and will care for them then, especially where faith issues are concerned.

One day a while back, our daughter Julia gave me a plaque that sits on my kitchen counter. It simply says, “Trust in the Lord.” God has used that short message to bring me back to reality many times by dispelling fear. Of course I don’t want to leave my grandchildren any time soon, but that decision isn’t up to me.

Trust in the Lord

The most effective antidote to fear is Scripture. It has the power to settle me and show me what’s true and what isn’t. God’s Word is an anchor that holds when storms come, because it has a power no other book has. It’s alive and active. It acts toward me in a way nothing else can, pointing me to the Lord and reminding me I’m not alone in my anxiety. He’s there battling the enemy alongside me, and his Word is a weapon against fear that never fails.

I don’t know how I could manage without the Lord accompanying me through this cancer. There isn’t a day that I don’t sense his closeness, and I’ll never stop thanking him for it. He has promised to be my ever-ready help whenever I need him and guarantees that my future is secure with him in heaven.

[ Tomorrow Mary will talk about you, blog readers. ]

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:5)