- A few minutes earlier, Chloe and I were playing. It was a game of her making, stemmed from her two year old imagination. She’s usually the foreman of such make believe journeys, giving me instruction of what we are to play. I foster her creativity and rather enjoy her setting the scene. Tonight she instructed me that I would be a monster and she would be a puppy. My job was to scare her with monster sounds while she ran off barking. Yes, this is my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for a second. At one point in our game she tried to lick me. The puppy was going to affectionately lick the mean monster. So I told Chloe, “The monster has decided to be nice and not scare puppies anymore. Your kindness and love has changed the monster’s heart!”
- This kind of symbolizes what Chloe did in my actual life. This morning as she sat eating her Dad’s maple and brown sugar Life cereal, I thought, “How ironic. My life is eating Life.” This phrase is in no way meant to downplay my relationship with Christ, or place my child on an altar. It is in fact recognition of how God used a child to change my life and draw me closer to Him. God often places a catalyst in our life to encourage us and build a drive in us to seek after Him. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “lighting a fire under someone’s rear end,” it’s kinda like that. Sometimes it’s a person. Sometimes it’s a situation. Sometimes it’s death, and sometimes it’s life. Irregardless of the form of your ignition, it is God that places it there. I think that fundamental fact can easily be overlooked, and we attribute change to the object of motivation rather than the Creator/Motivator.
- Chloe came along during a season in my life where I wasn’t experiencing God to His fullest extent. Her little life served as an incentive to be a better me. Since her arrival, I haven’t looked back. That’s the thing about positive change. You wonder why it took so long, and how you managed in life before it. My sister came over today with her baby son. She is able to see the behaviors of a “terrible two” and see what she has in store. As Chloe sat eating from my bowl (I had tried to fix her one of her own, but no, she just wanted mine), I said, “See what you have to look forward to.” Having children is like that. Your food is not your own. Your money is not your own. Your time is no longer your own. I ate dinner earlier in the floor so I could sit beside the baby and entertain her between bites. I got up from my plate three times to either get Chloe something or take her to the bathroom. My life has indeed changed, but so has my life. Do you get me? That wasn’t a typo. I wouldn’t trade a single puddle of pee, snotty nose, or whiny scream for a minute. It’s a package deal my friends. Even the sour is good. It just makes the sweet so much sweeter. I thank God every day, many times for sending a sweet, lovable puppy to change this monster’s heart. One lick was all it took.
That is all 🙂