Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix
his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to
the counter,opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour
cannister, 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...