No Way

Well, after watching Henry's peers whisper, shout, shake, and squeal the word "no" at their parents, sometimes in jest and often in defiance, my day has come.

Henry has finally discovered the word "no."

As of today, I don't think he really knows how to use it. If I ask him a yes or no question, he doesn't respond verbally, either in negative or affirmative (though if he understands the context of what I'm asking, he does respond to that with appropriate action.) If I give a command, he hasn't thrown down that gauntlet. But, now, when I tell him "no, no, Henry" he likes to repeat me. Of course as he says it, he's still doing what I told him not to 99% of the time, but he's experimenting with the word. When we sing "This Little Light of Mine" and we get to the verse "Hide it under a bushel - NO!" he likes to say the "no," often with fervor.

I know it is only a short time before I'm arguing with my toddler. Lord, give me patience and good humor.

Daily Devotional

Say not thou, I will recompense evil;
but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
-- Proverbs 20:22 KJV

**In my devotional book, this verse was taken a little out of context I think, so I'm going to go two directions here: one way discussing the verse as the devotional took it, and secondly the way I believe it is intended within the context of this chapter in the Bible. They both speak of patience, but in very different ways.**

The devotional story talked about a scenario at a grocery store where a customer grew impatient with a slow-moving line and proceeded to make several hateful comments and complaints aloud. The author of this story struck my heart when she wrote that "impatience reveals a selfish and mean spirit while showing patience is really a simple act of kindness." What a basic and common sense concept! How often I too have felt impatient about a delayed expectation, sometimes even being transparent enough that others around me would notice my frustration. In the moment, you feel a little bit justified and satisfied to express these feelings so that whomever you're waiting on might move a little faster to suit you. I hope I can remember that keeping my impatience to myself - or better yet, not submitting to my human-nature at all - would be a simple show of kindness and a reflection of my Godly spirit that would honor Him and give Him glory.

I'm so glad that God is eternally patient. He NEVER tires of our shenanigans or our disobedience to the point that he'd walk away and give up on our salvation. He knows how sinful and wicked we are in our human-nature, and yet he pursues us and desires us to come to Him for redemption. He offers His gift of eternal life with no strings attached beyond a child-like faith in Christ, and with no take-backs. What a patient and loving God!

In the 20th chapter of Proverbs, Solomon gives warnings and instructions to God's people. In verse 22, I believe he issues warning to not look to oneself for salvation but to wait on God. We are all tarnished and imperfect, and only in God can we be made whole and clean. We shouldn't look for ways to justify our sins; when we repent from these sins, we will be redeemed by God's mercy. Salvation does not lie within ourselves or our own power - despite what "the world" would have you believe with all it's new-age and free-thinking movements. Wait and look to the Lord for redemption - "he shall save thee."