Thursday, June 24, 2010

mine

The preschooler has a problem.

He thinks everything in this house belongs to him. He walks around and gathers things up, saying, “Hey! Do you like my new ball/guitar/flashlight?”

There’s only one problem.

None of this stuff is his.

Twin B. is most aggravated by this new development. With a strong sense of fairness and a very black and white approach to justice, this pushes him over the edge. “I just bought that game last week with my own money. Now he’s saying it’s his!”

We remind the preschooler who really owns the stuff he’s pocketing, but he just laughs. In his mind, I think, everything in this house belongs to him. He’s on the receiving end of so many hand-me-downs, he probably figures eventually it will be his.

And I remind Twin B. that his frustration at his little brother might be how God feels sometimes. He gives us so much. Everything we need! A home, plenty of food, clothes, and even some of the stuff we want, like toys and games and vacations. And sometimes we forget it’s all a gift, and we walk around like the preschooler, just grabbing onto it, insisting it’s ours; refusing to share.

And God watches. He’s full of grace. He just wants us to get it.

It’s all His.

5 comments:

Sarah said...

Terrific lesson!

Sues said...

LOVELOVELOVE this!!!

Anonymous said...

I think "mine" is the first word most children speak. It's the last word a lot of people speak, too. Oh, to have a loose grip on "stuff" and believe, truly believe it belongs to him. You are shepherding these boys well!

ChosenRebel said...

Amen. No matter how small, you can't hide that sin nature. Mine shows all the time.

Unknown said...

Thank you for your sweet comment over on my post, truly, thank you!

Twins! A preschooler!

Wow! You are AMAZING.

I love your blog!