Colossians Chapter 3 Part I

​Colossians Chapter 3:1 – 17 Part I​

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)

A Prayer for My Daughter

Set my daughter’s heart and mind on things above and not on earthly things. Rid her of any anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from her lips. Clothe her in Truthfulness, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and a spirit of forgiveness. Adorn her with love above all other virtues and let peace reign in her heart with thanksgiving. May Your Word dwell richly in her heart with songs of praise and gratitude flowing from her lips. Help her to do all things in You and for You with a heart of thanksgiving.  ...

“Mommy, my one nostril is clogged!” The cry jerked me out of deep slumber to groggy awareness. “Mommy!!” persisted the wail in the black stillness of the early morn.

Rolling over in bed, I grabbed for my cell phone. 5 a.m. announced the device. Groaning, I stumbled out of bed and shuffled towards Little girl’s room.

​“My nose!” demanded Little girl, who sat straight up in bed, clutching a tissue in her small hand. Padding over to Little girl, I crawled beside her in bed and grabbed for the tissue.

Parents, I must confess that I may have been a wee bit grumpy – okay, a lot grumpy. All I wanted was to snuggle back beneath my own warm, cozy covers and for Little girl to fall back to sleep. Simple, right? But no.

First, there was the unsuccessful nose blowing which resulted in no exodus but further clogging (you know the kind), followed by the failed massaging of sinuses to promote draining that refused to cooperate. Next, water was swallowed to the last drop which led to the inevitable bathroom trip. Of course, we ran out of tissues, so while I searched for a new box, I might as well refill the now empty cup.

After a few more, this time more successful, nose blows and a couple sips of water, Little girl finally burrowed down beneath the covers. “I feel better now, I’m ready to sleep,” she announced.

Finally! I exclaimed in my head as I bent down to kiss her forehead. Stumbling back to bed, I had just pulled the soft comforter over me, when –

“Mommy! My nose is still clogged!! Mooommmmy!!”

Nonplussed, in grizzly bear fashion, I threw off the bed covers and marched none too happily down the hallway. Banging open the door and biting my tongue, I refilled the diffuser in her room and reapplied new oils only to make the concoction too strong.

“Can I get up now?” asked the curious little girl.

“No!” I gritted my teeth, “It is not time to get up yet!!” And as premature mornings often do, it is no surprise that tears and fits followed unwelcome news. 

Finally, deeming it time to interrupt the darkness with artificial light, I allowed Little girl to play quietly. I lay body and head buried beneath her covers like an ostrich with its head beneath the sand.

“May I listen to your Bible?” chirped Little girl, annoyingly now sweet and most definitely awake. Over the past few weeks, as Sweet girl and I started the morning, I played my audio Bible in her room to help make time for my morning devotions while exposing her to scripture.

You have a choice to make, I told myself, you can either make the best of this train wreck of a morning or stay down in the pit.

“Mommy,” she repeated, “may I have the Bible?”

This time, I pushed myself up in her bed and pasted a smile on my face. ” Yes, dear,” I said brightly. The audio device already sat beside her bookcase, so I hopped out of her bed and turned it on. ” Sweet pea,” I said with now more gentle tones, “Mommy is going to lay down for a few moments and rest a little while you play. I’ll just keep the Bible on play for you.”

​“Okay, Mommy,” she grinned, “I like the Bible!” As I curled beneath the covers and my eyes closed, a happy thought struck my tired brain, God’s word is literally washing over us right now. With that comforting thought, I drifted off to sleep. And during those 15 minutes, God’s Word did wash over Sweet girl and me, cleansing us of our rocky start, grumpiness, and tiredness.

I am reminded how God can turn any situation for His good if we let Him and how He gives us second chance after third chance up to infinity. I awoke from my brief nap confronted with the choice to make the best of the situation or remain in the mud puddle. It wasn’t easy, and I confess that many times, I choose the mud puddle instead, but today, this morning, I allowed God to infiltrate my darkness. I let go of my wheel and gave control over to God. I am so grateful I stopped gripping the controls because once I stepped back, God turned my ash of a morning to beautiful roses.

Joy crept in my heart as Sweet girl and I made breakfast together, she in her footed pajamas standing on a chair beside me. Sweet girl pushed play on her favorite Christian children’s CD and somehow, I found us both dancing to the music in silly abandon while the breakfast cooked.

“Mommy, may I have a doughnut with breakfast?” asked Sweet girl, spying the box of sweet pastry my husband had brought home the night before.

“Sure!” I heard myself commit,. “Why not?”

​“Yei!!” cried my daughter with excitement. Then, breakfast was suddenly a special, bright occasion of fun and unexpected delicious sweetness! 

As the morning unfolded, my heart and my mood lightened and streaks of sweet joy took root. Waving goodbye to Sweet one at school, I thought to myself, I can be thankful today. After a surprisingly enjoyable workout, I thanked the Lord for blessing me with unexpected energy and pleasure with the sweat and working muscles. Then, freshly showered, sitting on a sun soaked love seat with my fingers flying on the keyboard and contentment wrapped warmly around my heart, I realized with a sudden jolt that I felt happy and that I was thankful! A gift from our Heavenly Father above, one of mercy and grace of which I did not deserve.

​Left to my own self, I would be still drowning in the mire. Yet, when we surrender ourselves to the capable and trustworthy hands of the God above, then we can begin to know real joy. Often, we possess no control over our circumstances, but we do control the choices we make. We can control our attitude and how we respond to the circumstances and the people who surround us. 

A Prayer for Myself

Lord, please help me today to give you my thoughts and attitudes. Give me Your eyes so that I might see my child, my helpmate, home, and circumstances through Your perspective. Pull me out of the miry clay and set my feet up onto Your Rock. Fill me with joy in the unexpected and peace amid chaos. 

This post is continued Feb. 7, 2018.