After I gave Emily her Elsa dress mentioned in the previous sewing post, her siblings called her down to share some pizza. I gently reminded her not to get food on her dress and that changing would be a prudent choice. She acknowledged my suggestion and went straight down to the table to eat.
Pride loudly called out, "BUT, I JUST made that dress and put over TWO hours into it!! That thing gave me a fit!!!" The Spirit quietly answered, "The dress is insignificant. Learning to make wise decisions about caring for her possessions will bless her all her life." I was gently reminded by my Father that my goal as a parent is higher than a clean dress.
I mentally gave the dress to the Lord to use as He saw fit. It turned out exactly as I expected with a reward I didn't expect.
Emily came to me later and had a small stain. I calmly told her, "I see you have a stain on your new dress. Changing your clothes before you ate would have been a better choice. I hope the stain comes out in the washer. If you give it to me, I will treat it and most of it should come out." She said, "OK," and ran off.
A few minutes later, she came back and sat down. My daughter looked me in the eyes and said, "Mom, I want you to know I dropped a WHOLE piece of pizza on my dress! The pizza was stuck UPSIDE DOWN to me and there was a HUGE stain!!! I was afraid I had ruined my dress, but I prayed and asked God to help me get the stain out. I kept praying as I went to the bathroom and wiped the stain, and you know what?!!! GOD HELPED ME get all of the stains out except this one little spot! It was amazing!"
If I had told Emily to change her clothes, she would have missed out on learning from her choices and interacting with her Creator. If I had lost control of my temper and fussed over the stained dress with pride boosting, "I knew it! I told you so!" she would not have felt it was safe to share her story with me. I would have denied Emily a learning exercise and experiencing God's help. I would have missed out on something else too.
I think God left that one little spot for me, so I'd see it and make a comment. That comment led to me learning my just turned 8-year-old daughter has learned from her father and I where to turn for help. Thank You, Lord, for your gifts!
