“Daddy, Ava drew all over the wall with a marker!”
Chances are you’ve had a similar experience raising kids. If you haven’t, be warned. Walls are to children what blank canvases were to Bob Ross; a place for “happy clouds” and art! As I went to assess the damage, I wondered to myself, “How bad is it? Did she use a Sharpie? Please, God, not a Sharpie!” I hadn’t planned on repainting. I certainly didn’t want to. Taping off, drop-cloths, and Valspar weren’t things I could get excited about. Thinking about that process was frustrating.
I walked into the room and found my 3-year-old Ava, marker in hand, sitting on her bed. I sighed and explained, “Ava, we draw on paper not on walls.” Taking the marker from her little hand, I turned my gaze to the “art.”
That is where I found the good. There in the “mess.”
It wasn’t scribbling my girl had covered the wall with. She wrote the same letter over and over again, one right next to the other. It was the letter “A.” A for Ava. Remembering we were teaching her how to write her name, I smiled, looked back at her, and said, “Those are some really good A’s.”
Practical Tip:
Find and point out something good about your kids, spouse, and circumstances.
It doesn’t take much effort to notice the negativity around us. “Couldn’t the baseboards be cleaner? Does Chewbacca live here? How many times a week do I need to unclog drains? You got a D on your quiz? Your teacher said you are having trouble paying attention in class. Who left the lights on? Your sick again? Quit losing the remote. These flies are the worst!” For whatever reason, we have a bias towards the negative. Knowing that bias exists highlights the need to fight against it all the more. Find the good! Point it out to yourself, if your married, make your spouse aware of the good, point it out to your children and celebrate it! Entire industries are built on negative news reporting, but only reporting negative news in your home will tear down the people living there.
We serve God who sees the good. Even in bad situations, He’s still good, sees what is good, and is able to work things out for the good.
Romans 8:28 puts it this way, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Let’s be those who find the good, encourage one another with it, and praise God for it!
Pastor Josh
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