Having an attitude with God

Being a 2 year old is hard stuff. Peyton fights me everyday with her new-found independence. She wants to do things on her own- she doesn't NEED my help, she says. Then, the frustration that comes when she realizes she can't do something on her own makes the situation worse. When she finally gets around to asking me for help, she has usually tried every avenue she can think of to get whatever it was done. Last night it was blowing a balloon. She was doing all the right things. She knew where to blow. She even stretched it out before she started blowing into it to make it easier (she had seen me do this once). She just didn't have the lung strength to get the air into that balloon. When she finally asked me for help, she was out of breath and tired from trying so hard.

The frustrating part as a parent is to allow my child to try new things and make decisions even when I know I could do it faster or better. She does need to learn to be independent. She will begin to be able to do more and more things on her own. But there will be times when she tries everything she can think of, and if she still can't figure it out- hopefully she will come to me for help. I think the key is always being there when she finally asks me for help. If she learns that she can't come to me when she needs help now, where will she go when she's a teenager and needs help making a decision about something bigger than blowing up a balloon?  

I think that this can be paralleled to our relationship with God. He will let us do things on our own. He never forces us to follow Him- it has to be a decision. And most of us will try to do things on our own. Even if we don't stray too far off His path, at some point or another in our lives, we will decide that we can do it without Him. And it won't be until we are out of breath and tired when we will come to Him and ask for help.

I am but a 2-year old in God's arms asking Him for help after 25 years of trying to do it on my own. I have believed in Him for many years, but never really GIVEN my life to Him. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. I am laying at His feet tired and out of breath asking Him to show me the way. I want to let God be the strength in my soul to guide me through this life and live out my days giving all the glory to Him.