Philippians Chapter 2

​“…at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV)

A Prayer for My Daughter

Oh Lord, grant my daughter a oneness and like-mindedness with the body of Christ. Give her a humble heart, one that delights in serving others. May You, Oh Lord, work in and through her by Your own Will and for Your own good purposes. Let her shine like stars in the universe, blameless and pure, filled with the Light and Life of Christ. ... 

“Do everything without complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:14, NIV),” rang sharply through my mind as I stripped dirty sheets off the bed. Only that very morning I had stripped Little girl’s bed at an unforgivable time of 1 a.m. due to a sipping mishap, and here I was again frantically yanking another pair of sheets off a bed to get ready for house guests. All the many tasks I needed to complete to ready the house for company loomed larger than life like an insurmountable mountain. A litany of other "must do"s screamed through my mind while time tick-tocked down. 

​To complicate matters, as a vision impaired person, what may take sighted people just minutes to perform often takes me three times as long. Plus, with me as a blind cleaning woman, you never know what you will get or how clean things will actually be! Thank goodness for my dear husband who serves as the quality control inspector!

But as time steadily marched towards countdown, my mood darkened and my frustration mounted. Inwardly, I complained and grumbled. Poor Sweet one! I heard myself barking and ordering rather then encouraging and showing patience. By the time my dear husband walked through the front door, I was a frenzied full-blown whirlwind of no nonsense, task oriented, laser focused, mess of a woman, who was barely holding the strands of sanity together. “Oh no!” I cried as the floor cleaning chemicals splashed prematurely on the carpeted floor in the guest room rather then on the intended bathroom floor, “Honey!!!!” Scrambling for towels, I rushed past my husband who entered the room and now stared at the man-made marsh before him.

​Tamping down my tongue, I grabbed old towels from the closet, hurried down the hallway, and pushed the towels towards my favorite man. I darted out of the room so to diffuse my snarky temper. My hero of a husband sopped up the mess while I banged dishes in the sink, frantically cleaning up the kitchen. Sweet girl wisely stayed in the living room and I silently thanked the Lord for the fun DVD she was enjoying. 

With this catastrophe under control and feeling proud of myself for controlling my tongue, I ran to ready the guest towels. Needing my husband to discern white towels from the cream towels so to hang matching colored linens, I presented the clean towels for inspection.

“Do you realize all of our hand towels are stained?” he inquired, looking at me accusingly.

“They are?” I exclaimed with dismay, “Oh no! How did that happen? What are we going to do? We can’t give them stained bath towels!”

​With precious little time remaining, a resigned husband and energetic little girl climbed into the minivan to purchase unblemished, new bath towels along with water and iced tea to offer for refreshments.

Except for the clink and clank of splashing dishes in the sink, quietness filled the air and my jack in the box coiled springs began to slowly unwind and relax. Soon, I was humming a little tune and thanking God for His faithfulness throughout the day that brought me here thus far.

I moved with purpose through the remaining tasks and felt the frantic wildness drain away.

“Mommy, we’re home!” cried my smiling Sweet one, bursting through the front door. “We bought pink towels!”

"Thank you, dear.” I smiled at my husband as he staggered through the door under the weight of 2 boxes of drinks and a bag of towels. I wish I could say that the monster mommy departed for good, but it’s ugly head reared one last time. “How much did you spend?!”

I gasped when my husband gave me the breakdown. “You paid that for just this…this…sparkling water?" My head wanted to implode. “What were you thinking?!”

Electricity crackled through the air as my husband and I exchanged barely controlled civilities. Breathe, breathe, I repeated to myself, closing my eyes. Lord, please help me let this all go. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile on my lips. “Thank you, honey. I understand your decision and I’m glad we now have something to offer our friends.”

Then, I turned on the Christian radio station, pumped up the volume, and finished making dinner. It wasn’t until the three of us pulled up chairs to the kitchen table and we received the news of our guests delayed arrival, when the ninja, warrior mom disappeared and hung up her samurai swords. Feeling contrite and embarrassed at my display of full out grump, I put down my fork and looked at Sweet girl.

“Sweet pea,” I apologized, “will you please forgive Mommy’s grumpiness? I didn’t behave in the most kind, thoughtful, or understanding manner.”

Little girl smiled. “I forgive you,” she chirped, stuffing a slice of pepperoni in her mouth.

I repeated the same heart felt words to my angelic husband, to which he not only forgave but responded in like kind. Finally, after an entire day of pressured angst, the taut, tight ropes relinquished their choking grasp. Peace flooded my heart and joy started to trickle into my soul.

“Mommy,” interrupted Sweet girl through my momentary reverie, “would you like a hug?” Little girl stretched her small arms out wide. “Sometimes, after I disobey, you give me a hug,” she explained with a sweet smile on her face.

“Oh yes!” I leaned over the expanse of the table into my little girl’s outstretched arms. “Mmm,” I sighed with contentment, drinking in the sweet little girl scent of my daughter. Her small arms wrapped themselves around my neck and pat-patted my shoulders and my back. ”I love you no matter what,” she said in my ear, repeating the very words she has herd her parents say at many a time like this.

“I love you too, sweet pea.” I smiled with tears in my eyes. 

Like Sweet one, God loves never fails or falters, even when we make mistakes. And as parents, we make plenty of mistakes. But, perfection is not what God has called us to as parents, rather it is to model Christ’s love to our children, teach our children His ways and show them how to love the Lord God with all their hearts, minds, and strength.

​We cannot expect perfection from our children either, but we can teach them the value of a truly repentant heart, show them how to ask for forgiveness by asking them to forgive us when we make mistakes, and reassure them of our unfailing and unconditional love, no matter their behavior, actions, or choices. Likewise, God is unfailingly patient in His love for us, waiting for us to run straight into His outstretched arms and proclaim His unconditional love for us. 

A Prayer for Myself

Dear Lord, 
Give me Your eyes today, help me to see You in the daily, mundane tasks and responsibilities of my life. Turn my grumbles and complaints into songs of thanksgiving and joy. Help me to let go and breathe deep Your renewing and refining love. Show me how to model Christ to my daughter and teach her Your ways, oh God.