pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter,
opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it
on the floor.
He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most
of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the
floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.
Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to
be
something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He
didn't
know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the
stove, (and he didn't know how the stove worked!). Suddenly he saw his
kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her
away,knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean
up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas
white and sticky.
And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile
tears welled up in Brandon's eyes.
All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a
terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a
spanking.
But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the
mess, he picked
up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas
white
and sticky in the process.
That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in
life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we
insult a
friend or we can't stand our job or our health goes sour.
Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of
anything else
to do.
That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though
some of our mess gets all over Him.
But just because we might mess up,we can't stop trying to "make
pancakes," for God or for others.
Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried...