Something I wrote over at The Glorious Table weeks ago published today. While much has changed since then, God has not. It was a good reminder that He still sees each of us in the middle of the whole world hurting. Gracious, He is amazing. See below for a preview or read the full post here: The Glorious Table “God Sees Everything”
Like almost every other family with small children, I have a rather well-decorated refrigerator. It’s where we keep the most impressive, or at least the most recent, of my children’s creations. There is also a large basket, strategically placed under a rather tall dining room chair, constantly overflowing with whatever is not on the fridge. Between worksheets, crafts, coloring pages, and homemade cards, this self-perpetuating pile continues to grow despite my best efforts to strategically (read: secretly) dispose of at least some of it at the bottom of the recycling bin.
I know many parents will be able to relate when I share that I recently got caught by my eldest. He is the childhood embodiment of an elderly statesman, committed to justice and righteousness at all times.
This is how it all went down:
[Eldest child enters the garage, gasps,] “Mom! My stuff is in here! And there is some of Charlotte’s stuff too! WHY w
ould you throw our stuff AWAY? These things are PRECIOUS to us!” [Cue crying from the statesman and the innocent, who are both now wounded to the depths of their souls.]
Oy vey. Their collective grief was so strong and his tone so indignant that I admit, I didn’t handle myself with the highest integrity. If I remember correctly, I stammered out something about having put it in there by accident, or I didn’t realize it was an important paper, or with some other parental backpedaling of the kind we are prone to in these moments. I grabbed the papers back out of the recycle bin, walked them slowly into the house, and put them right back under that tall chair in the overflowing basket where they had been only a few hours before.
Later that evening, as I shared the debacle with my husband, I was attempting to figure out how to lovingly but firmly let my children know that while I appreciate their work, it is actual insanity to keep everything that matters to them. No matter how much I love them, there is no way as a parent to fully embrace every mark of growth and creativity in the limited space and capacity we are given.
And then this beautiful thought emerged.
God can. And he does.
God sees everything.
To read the full post go to The Glorious Table here.
Anne Rulo 