Cleaning up the mess...Picking up the pieces

Today I find myself reflecting. The other day, Madilyn told me the one thing that she wanted for me to give her for Valentine's Day is a clean room. My first inclination was to get angry. I told her I refused to clean her messes anymore, she was old enough to clean up after herself and needs to learn some responsibility. She then asked me if I would just "help" her clean her room. You see, she ALWAYS promises to keep her room clean when I spend the hours cleaning it and without fail, sometimes not even five minutes later, it is a mess again. And, I don't mean a small mess, I mean the kind of mess that you can not find the floor or the bed for. The kind where there are toys and clothes everywhere, some dirty, some clean and bits and broken pieces of toys and crayons and such. Sometimes scattered pieces of toys just waiting to be put back into the right places. She told my mother once that she thought it was my job to clean up her room. She said that cleaning was just too hard. Whoa, did we have a talk after that one!!!

But, then just this morning it hit me just how like me she is. How many times have I taken my life, made a big mess and then just expected God to clean it up for me? Sometimes I forget to even ask Him, just as often Madilyn forgets to ask me and sometimes He does it anyway just as I do it for Madilyn. It also hit me how many times I have asked Him to clean it up, and without fail or question, He does just that. You see, sometimes when I try to make sweet Madilyn help me clean, she makes a bigger mess than what we started with. I wonder if God thinks the same thing of me sometimes, when I try to "help" Him, I wonder if He is thinking I am just making a bigger mess? Sometimes I forget to just open my heart to God and let Him clean my messes and pick up the scattered pieces.

Lord, help me to know when to let You help me clean up the mess and put back the broken scattered pieces, and when I should just sit back and let You do all of the work. Help me to have the kind of understanding for my children that You have for me, that when life is just too much, just like Madilyn's room gets to be too much for her to clean, help me to take over and clean up their messes like I should. Lord, I know that learning comes from doing also, so help me to distinguish when it is time for me to help, and when I need to just get out of the way. Thank You for Your Grace and that Your Mercies are new each and every day! I love You, Jesus. In Your Sweet Name I pray...