The Best Mess

     WHOOOOOSH!  The sound of running water grabbed my attention.  It came from the laundry room . . . BUT I was in the kitchen!  Not a good sign when a sweet, visiting toddler had just vanished from the living room moments before.  I hurried to follow the sound of the tap and rounded the corner just in time to be greeted by a soggy-socked toddler -- her face scrunched up with concern.

    It only took moments to rescue the surrounding items from the water that crawled across the beige tiles, and then I turned to face the culpable two-year old.  Her face displayed the concern that raged on the inside.

     "Marie, did you turn on the tap and make this mess?" I gently asked.

      The pause that came next threatened to last forever.  Then the words stumbled forth -- start and stop, due to the war being waged in order for the truth to surface . . .

     "I . . . I . . . I . . . I . . . DID!" 

     Relief flooded into her azure eyes, as she gazed up at me -- and I cheered!  Because I was glad she had made the mess?  No, because I saw the victory that had been won in her heart.  Hundreds of hours of training, invested by her mom and dad, were paying off during a brief visit in our home.

     The mess was a success in my eyes.  At the mere age of two, she had defied the battle of gravity and THE LIE and conquered it with THE TRUTH.

     And does the battle of gravity and THE LIE end just because we become the moms?  No.  The temptations just become more subtle; the opportunities we have to stand up and get the words out change their shape, but they do not disappear.  A missed item on our receipt at the grocery checkout . . . a husband who asks what time we crawled into bed . . . a friend who wonders what we think of their dress . . . a child who glances at the posted speed limit and then inquires of the speed of our vehicle. 

     Simple moments in time that seem insignificant on their own.

     BUT put together over the years, they become the essence of who we are.  God-given "seconds" in time that accumulate to mold the weight of our character, either good or bad, while observed by those we love the most. 

     We are forever watched, forever heard, forever silently asked the question, "Does Mommy live like she tells me to live?"  May we be found with the answer that resounds bold and strong, "She sure does!" 

"In EVERYTHING set them an example by doing
what is good."  (Titus 2:7)