Saturday, December 26, 2009

Sometimes God takes your CheeChay...

I noticed a little something a couple of days ago that I thought was worth mentioning.

Some of my family got together recently for Christmas. My 2ish year old niece was one of the ones there. This is only her 2nd Christmas, but she's got a good handle on what happens around this time of year--everyone she knows brings her a pwesent.

Well Olivia definitely got some presents that day. One of them was a miniature horse doll type of thing. It was just like the real thing, except for the fact that it was small (like the size of a beagle), and made of plastic... no circulatory system... or bones... or soft tissue parts. It was a doll, so... it did have really soft hair though. Anyway, this horse doll also came with its very own saddle and blanket, a saddlebag, a halter, a hair brush, and a carrot. So needless to say, this horse doll was pretty much the coolest thing made.

Olivia's equine (that's horse) awareness recently blossomed ever since she rode one of our real horses (named TJ) at the house one day. This horse has everything--circulatory system, bones, plenty of soft tissue, and nice gut sounds. So needless to say, after the wrapping paper was ripped away, Olivia immediately saw what she thought was TJ now standing in the living room waiting to be saddled up and ridden between the couches.

There was one problem though. This doll was never made for riding. In fact, soon after Olivia hopped onto the toy horse (even after we told her to hold off on that), the legs started bending in ways they were never intended to bend due to Olivia's body weight. We told her to back off the horse and not to try to ride it. This was for petting and stuff.

This was where my "lets over analyze a tiny kid's thought process" skills came into play. At this point, I noticed Olivia was dead set on riding that toy horse even though we specifically told her she couldn't do it.

And why shouldn't she be able to ride this horse? It was her gift after all. We gave it to her and said, "Hey you! Yeah, you! Little tiny kid! Here is a miniature version of that big black horse we taught you to ride several weeks ago. Ya know? The one that you sat on that day at that place with the people? With those hats and stuff?"

Can you imagine what was going through that kid's mind as we barked these new and unexpected rules at her? Maybe something like this:

My sis: Look Oli! It's TJ!!
Olivia: Shweet! It's CheeChay!! Just like da big CheeChay, except tiny size CheeChay!!
My sis: Isn't that neat Oli? Your very own little TJ!!
Olivia: Mmm...kool-aid. I ride CheeChay!!
My sis: Put his saddle on him!!
Olivia: Mine! I ride it! cheeechay shhishca bennspaddle bine!
Me: Kid, we can't understand you!
My sis: Adam, be quiet!
Me: I think she's gonna try to ride it...

At this point in time, everyone is watching Olivia because she's cute and stuff. Everyone in the room is on the edge of their seat, watching everything she's doing and is about to do with the tiny horse doll. Surely she has something nice and babyish cooked up to amuse us all.

Well, what does she do?

Olivia: CheeChay! I ride it!
Me: What is she sayin?
Dad: Up... looks like the legs on that doll are bending the wrong way.
Sis: Olivia, get off the horse!

Who is right in this whole anyway?

We gave Olivia a new toy to enjoy and play with. It was intended to be hers.

On the other hand, we can see that Olivia isn't using her new gift the right way. She ruining it, and she doesn't even see it.

So... what is the most appropriate action? If she has been informed over and over again, and she still refuses (whether she realizes it or not) to heed our warnings, we need to take it from her until she understands how to use her new gift properly--the way it was intended to be used.

Sure, we could spare her the disappointment by allowing her to do what she wants with her new doll. After all, her mind is clearly registering her current activity (riding the doll) as FUN, therefore, the gift is serving it's purpose. Why can't she continue to do with it what she feels is utilizing it in the manner in which it was intended?

The answer is common sense!! She's going to COMPLETELY RUIN it! Sure, she's having a good time now, but what kind of parent would sit back and watch their child do something that would cause them sadness in the end? The parent provides the gift for the purpose of watching their child get out it what was intended--nothing less.

What would happen is this: She would get on top of the horse and have a great time. But as I sat and watch it all unfold, I can definitely tell you that her time of fun would have lasted no more than 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes of bliss, Olivia would soon find herself sad and without. And we just sat back and watched it unfold. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the flaw in this parenting methodology.

So here's why I said all that.

If it's common sense for the parent to spare the child a long term loss rather than an short term loss, why is it so hard to wrap our minds around the idea of a loving God doing the same for us? He is the epitome of love. He loves like nothing else in creation. How much more is he going to look out for the long term happiness of His most prized creation (people)?

We don't understand why we had to lose that certain romance that we "just knew" was right for us. We don't understand why we were denied a chance to attend that one certain college we always wanted attend. We can't see the ultimate purpose in losing that certain loved one.

We can't see all these things. And when we lose them, it hurts us. But to keep our ultimate happiness intact, God takes away certain things (or maybe even throws something else into the mix). Either way, we need to understand this concept: God knows what He's doing. We need to always remember that He will always give us the ABSOLUTE BEST, even if we can't see it at that exact moment.

Romans 11
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen
.

Dang this was long...

Comments or critiques?






3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this so much! You have a gift, my friend. This kind of reminded me of a post by another favorite blogger, Jon Acuff --

    http://stuffchristianslike.net/2009/07/575-refusing-the-gift-of-the-desert-road/

    keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nephew -- you make me proud!
    god stuff, people stuff, vet stuff = GOOD stuff! He IS sovereign -- a lesson I have been re-learning of late. And, I can trust Him -- you said it, my best interest is His very heart.

    Love,
    Aunt Susie

    ReplyDelete
  3. It makes a lot of sense. It would just be nice if there was something that could make temporary disappointments easier to endure.

    Brian Thomas

    ReplyDelete

Blog Archive

Followers