The other night I found myself hurriedly trying to throw dinner together. I was adding spices and stuff to ground beef before shaping it into hamburger patties; my oldest daughter was mixing up coleslaw.
My youngest daughter loves to sit on the stool beside me whenever I cook. At four years old, she is already quite the little chef. She can measure, pour, mix, and even chop a little (with a table knife, not a sharp knife). This particular night she badly wanted to help; however, the nature of the meal left few opportunities for her assistance.
Her older sister asked her to help by retrieving ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator. However, my youngest felt those tasks didn’t fit with her particular skill set. I could tell she only wanted to do the “bigger” jobs such as mixing and measuring. Plus, she wanted to help me – not sister. Even with her diverse skills, she could do nothing to help with the hamburger patties.
So often I have seen myself in her position. She sits beside me and watches me work. Likewise, I have sat in God’s presence and watched Him work. Like my helpful daughter, I eagerly want to join in and help in His work. So He gives me a job to do.
Perhaps He says, “Make a phone call.” But I say, “No, I don’t want to do that. I want to teach a lesson about this issue.”
Or, He says, “Donate some money.” But I say, “Hey, I could write a really great blog article about this.”
I might hear Him say, “Tell her about Jesus.” So I respond with, “No, not now. I’ll just be a good listener.”
Like my daughter, my heart is in the right place and I truly want to be helpful. The things I want to do are all good things – but if they aren’t what God is asking me to do, then am I really being helpful?
This is soooo true! We all want the bigger assignment, but God is wanting to see if we are obedient in the small things... to see if we will be obedient in the big things! Love it, sister!
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