A Lesson in Humility from a Six-Year-Old

"About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?'  Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them.  Then He said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.'"

Matthew 18:1-3

 

Let me begin by saying that I'm not a huge fan of summer.  I have come to the conclusion that God has decided to stretch me in this area, much to my dismay. 

For the longest time the air conditioner in our car would decide to not work if the temperature was too hot outside.  If it's in the eighties, the car is downright cold, but somewhere in the nineties a threshold gets crossed and bzzt!  No cold air.  We thought we fixed the problem last summer by changing out our often neglected cabin filters so, after three trips from South Texas to Oklahoma, we figured they needed to be changed again.  Alas, that didn't work this time.  Did I mention South Texas?  Yeah....it's hot...

 

That rant aside, I was extremely humbled by my daughter The Scientist last weekend in the aforementioned car when we needed to go into the our closest (big)city.  To drive into town we have to take the highway; heat + wind coming in four windows at 65 mph = grumpy mama. 

 

Shortly after merging on the highway I hear my little girl singing the lyrics of the last song on the radio.  The wind was loud and we couldn't even hear the radio anymore, I grumped about not wanting to turn the radio up even more.  She's back there singing and I'm grumping.  Then I looked back...this, this is what I saw:

 

My baby was praising her God, and I was complaining about the wind and the heat.  My attitude shifted dramatically.  It brought to mind everything we have been blessed with.  I begged Him for forgiveness.  My God, my God, forgive me for my ungrateful heart.  Forgive me for the times I see my bad attitude come out in my children.  Forgive me for not trusting in You and Your goodness.  By His grace I am forgiven, we are all forgiven.

Now, I'm not going to even try and say that things have been roses and dewdrops since then, but precept upon precept we grow.

"God saved you by His grace when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us an boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Chist Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." 

 Ephesians 2:8-10

 

I try to keep His blessings in mind as I go throughout my day.  To shift my perspective onto the good.