Confession time.
I yelled at my 5 year old for "helping" me make Kraft Dinner for lunch today. He was desperate to assist, and I was doing too many things at once. The noodles were already cooked and I was moving on to the cheese sauce. Since I cook the sauce separately while the noodles drain so I can ensure all the chunks get properly broken up, the kids often take turns emptying the powered cheese into the pot. I set Middle Boy up to do that and turned to assist Oldest with a math work sheet. While my attention was thus occupied, Middle Boy decided to move on to the next step and add the milk to the pot.
ALL. THE. MILK.
All that we had left in the fridge, probably a good 3 cups or so. Oh how I wish at that moment I was still channeling the "patient Mama" energy I posted on Instagram the other day. I snapped, and snapped loud. I sent Middle Boy to his room (as much for my benefit as his) and kicked the other two boys out of the kitchen for good measure. Now I had a crying child who had only wanted to be helpful, and a pot full of milk dusted with cheese powder. Of course, I was instantly remorseful that I had reacted like that. It is something God is working on in me. I quickly made a new plan, called Middle Boy back downstairs, and invited him to help me fix what got messed up. I opened up the other three boxes of Kraft Dinner we had, we mixed in the cheese powder, and then proceeded to cook the noodles in the milk. It became the thickest, creamiest Kraft Dinner I have ever made, and lunch is ready for tomorrow too.
Isn't it wonderful that God takes ugly things and makes them beautiful? Isn't it fantastic to know He can take our missteps, mistakes and even our outright sinful decisions, and make good things come out of them? You can see it all throughout Scripture. The story of Joseph and his brothers comes to mind. God took the sin of the brothers jealousy and used it to elevate Joseph to a position that allowed him to save all of them from starving to death during an extreme famine. Or how about the times in Scripture we read about how Peter was impetuous and either said or did something only to find out that he had missed something important Jesus was trying to teach him? And yet in the end, he was used in great and mighty ways.
So often I run ahead, thinking I know what comes next, only to royally screw things up. I try to do good things and end up with a mess. But God is infinitely patient with me. He does not lose His temper, scream at me for being thoughtless or careless. He doesn't berate me for failing to wait for His instructions. He doesn't send me away from Him, or stomp off in a huff leaving me to figure out how to fix things on my own. He comes gently closer and reminds me of my limitations. He encourages me to slow down and wait for Him to provide the next step. Then, He works with and through my mistakes to make something better. He gives me new tools and resources to do a better job next time. He does not waste my mistakes.
He takes my pot full of milk, and turns it into lunch for tomorrow.
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