Temptations

             A few weeks ago, four generations rode to church together. My granddaughter Adeline, my daughters Lauren and Victoria and I picked up my parents whom the grandchildren refer to as Mimi and Paw Paw.

The drive to New Orleans took us over the lake where water glistened under the warm rays of the sun, and a cool breeze formed the white tops of gentle waves.

“It’s almost too nice to go to church,” my dad said. I nodded in agreement until I heard my granddaughter’s voice.

“I want to go to my church!” Adeline said.

“Oh yes, that’s what I meant. It’s so nice we should go to church.”   
I was stuck in between surprise that she understood what he meant and delight in her desire to attend church.

A few minutes later, just after I dropped my parents off at the curb near church, Victoria said, “I’m so hungry.”

“Me, too,” I said. “Would it be wrong to bring Adeline to Children’s Church and go to Another Broken Egg for breakfast?”

“We can’t go without Mimi and Paw Paw,” Lauren said. “Look, they haven’t made it to the door yet.”

            I turned to see that the parking attendant had moved a cone so that I could park in a good spot. “Looks like we’re going to church,” I said.

            As we sat in church, I couldn’t help but smile when the first Scripture verse was read, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

            Tempted by beautiful weather and empty stomachs, we instead chose to follow Adeline’s wishes.

“And a little child would lead them.” Isaiah 11:6

What do you want?

            I’m occasionally asked to babysit my grandchildren and the older they get, the easier it has become. Once able to speak, the guesswork of what they want is over. Or so I thought.

            My granddaughter Olivia was halfway between her second and third birthday when I was asked to babysit. I fed both Olivia and her baby sister Charlie, played with them, read to them, then put Charlie in her bed where she quickly dozed off. Olivia was playing and as soon as I turned on Fox news she said, “Popsicle.” At least that’s what I thought she said. So I gave her a popsicle.

            When she had eaten it, she repeated what she’d said earlier. I gave her another popsicle. After the third red, white and blue bomb pop I called her mom and had Olivia repeat the word.

            “She’s saying Paw Patrol,” Monique interpreted. “She wants you to put on the cartoon.”

With all of the sugar I had given to her, Olivia stayed awake for a few episodes.

Now I know that God already knows what I’m going to ask for in prayer. I know that He not only understands everything I say, but He also knows what’s in my heart. Yet He still shows me in His word that I’m to make specific requests.

One example of this is found in Mark 10 when Blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was near. He shouted and called Him, “Son of David,” which was a term for the Messiah. In doing so, the blind man recognized the Deity that some of the sighted denied. Bartimaeus’ cries for mercy caused Jesus to stop and ask, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Jesus wanted the man to verbalize his request. When Bartimaeus said that he wanted to see, Jesus told him that his faith had healed him. He received his sight, followed Jesus, and praised God which caused others to praise Him, too.

Like Bartimaeus, my cries are heard by God, and He stops and asks what I want. And He always understands what I am saying.

Candy Crush

           I deleted the Candy Crush game from my phone. It was consuming my time and eating away minutes that should have been spent elsewhere - anywhere other than sitting on my sofa playing a video game. The worst part of this story is that it’s the second time I’ve become hooked on the game and had to remove it from my phone. I should be too embarrassed to admit this, but I believe that public confession will decrease my chances of a relapse.

            Let me make it clear that I’m not judging anyone who enjoys the game. I don’t believe that Candy Crush is bad; it’s just not good for me.

            In almost every area of my home is something that would have benefitted from the minutes I gave to Candy Crush. I could have mended my son’s suit, hemmed my nephew’s pants, or finally written in the journal I bought for my granddaughter. (She’s 18 months old!) Then there’s always the quilts I said I’d make from my daughters’ high school T-shirts.

            I did a little Math and figured out that since I sleep an average of 6.5 hours, I wake up with an available 1050 minutes each morning. Lately, I’ve used those first few minutes to pray that my day will be productive.

            Although Moses wasn’t distracted by video games, something caused him to evaluate how he would spend his minutes. He addressed it in the only psalm he wrote: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

            Today I’m asking myself a few questions. Which projects will I complete today? What do I want to accomplish before I die? What do I need to add or delete from my day to move one step closer to my goals?

            And I just remembered another project I have. I want to teach my daughters Monique, Lauren, and Elise to sew like their sister Victoria. If I do that, they can make their own T-shirt quilts!