Whiteboard

Today my little three year old is grumpy. She doesn't want to talk nicely, she doesn't want to share. Obedience is not high on the list and walking in her own path is all that matters. Today she yelled at her trike. This morning she dismissed me with a grumble.

I found myself wondering how to parent this. And, I find myself wondering this often.

I was cleaning out the perennial bed, hacking out the overgrown and dead foliage of the daisys. When I heard my curly headed three year old, "Trike! This is not right! DON'T squeak. GO straight!"

She was losing it. And fast.

I set down my clippers, pulled off my gloves and sat down cross-legged in the middle of the driveway next to her. As softly and as slowly as I could talk...

"Lillian. What is wrong today?"

Mumbled, low, "I want my daddy." (Typical answer.)

"Well, he has to work right now. But I noticed today lots of yelling at people and things. Lots of grumpiness...Did you know that God wants you to have a 'happy heart'?

A small nod of acknowledgement.

"Maybe we can pray for him to help you with this?"

She eyed me, thumb in mouth, nodding her head. Yes. She wanted to pray.

"Father, please help Lillian's heart today. Help her to talk kindly to people, help her to be gentle with Connor and Mama and the things around her. Jesus, would you clean Lillian's heart and help her to start over today."

When we had finished she was smiling! She looked at me as if SHE was going to be the one to end this little life lesson, "Mama, want to do the whiteboard with me!?"

We moved to the open garage where we have been keeping an art easel that has a whiteboard on one side and a chalkboard on the other. We began to fill up the board with drawings and pictures...all in brown since it was the only marker not dried up.

After drawing the entire family, dog included, Lillian said, "Now, let's erase it all and start clean."

Teachable moment.

I picked up the rag and began to wipe the board down. Each scribble and scratch became obsolete and removed as if never there.

"Lillian, see how I am wiping this board? You know what, this is like what Jesus does for us when we ask him to help our hearts become clean again. Sometimes our hearts get all filled up with yucky things like these scribbles. But, when we stop and pray and ask Jesus to clean our hearts just like we did in the driveway, He does! Just like this board!"

The whole time I was talking she was smiling away, so proud! When I had finished cleaning the board, she looked down at her chest, puffed it out and said, "Mama, Jesus is in my heart - do you want to talk to him now?"

Hilarious ending to my teachable moment.

But, really. Isn't this just the right picture? My heart quickly becomes muddied with the things that are undeniably sin.

Jealously, anger, bitterness, resentment, gossip, discontenment.

Mmmm....the list is endless. The list is ugly.

But Christ says, with a prayer.

With acknowledgement.

With desire for change I can be made NEW again.

The whiteboard of my heart can be cleaned.

And this is it... This is the beauty of Christ.

I don't have to live with this heart. In a flash it can be changed and made new again. Oh, we are rich! So rich to have this gift!

Oh Lord, today I want this. Clean this heart, soiled and filled with the things that are not of you. Today, let me start anew and in the process be changed.