Life Training

I have three friends with children in potty training. Our ladies’ Bible study group noisily cheered with them when their kids went #2 on the potty for the first time. It’s a really big deal. If you’re a mom, you know what I mean!

Yet again, the Lord is teaching me something through my kids. I love it.

I told my friends yesterday, “It just takes time. Plan on it taking 6 months, and don’t get discouraged. Be consistent. They’ll get it eventually.”

The Lord now is using this to encourage me regarding habits I’d like to break! Unnecessary gazes in the mirror, picking my skin, being quickly offended, being deliberately “dull” to the Holy Spirit when He begins to lead me in a direction I don’t want to go, etc… (The complete list would fill a gigabyte.)

But just as my friends’ kids are in potty training, I’m in “Life Training.” We ALL are! When I goof up and “mess my pants” for the 6^th time in a day, God patiently cleans me up and says, “Let’s have another go at it, now.”

He knows I want to please Him. I don’t want to be mastered by anything but Him. But LIFE Training takes time, just like potty training. I want to kick the bad habits immediately, but He knows I won’t do that.

The great news is He doesn’t love me any less simply because I mess up! I didn’t love my kids any less when they wet their pants for the 100^th time. They weren’t disqualified as my children, either.

And we’re not disqualified as children of God when we mess up. His love for us isn’t diminished. His approval of us is based on His perfect Son’s blood covering us. So we trade in our filthy rags and receive the robe of righteousness. We stand confident in His presence because of His gift of forgiveness and righteousness. We are His kids, and He loves us regardless of our performance.

So, today, if I mess up again, I’ll choose to remember about potty training instead of letting myself feel all condemned about my failures in LIFE Training.

Thanks, Lord. I needed to hear this!