Grace as Patience

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About 117 times a day, I give my daughters the chance to choose to be obedient. There are various phrases that accompany these opportunities, things like "Make the right choice," "Be obedient," "When mommy asks you to do something, when are you supposed to do it?," and "Thank you for your obedience."

Lately, because we have entered the exasperating stalling phase, I've added "Slow obedience is the same as disobedience."

But every time I say it, I wince, because it's not my admonition to a 4-year-old that I hear, but the stern warning of the Holy Spirit in my own life.

I wonder if God gets as huffy with me as I do with my kids when I send them to brush their teeth and enter the bathroom 15 minutes later to find them playing with bubbles in the sink, toothbrushes dry. Or if He mutters the words "slow obedience is the same as disobedience" like I do, when I hear the words, "not yet, mom," or "I'm COMING, mom." I wonder if He's reaching for the wooden spoon as I say for the fifth time, "just a few more minutes of doing my own thing, God."

Thank God for the times when Grace presents itself as patience.

"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
I Peter 1:14-16

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