pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the
counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister,
spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl
with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar,
leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left
by his kitten.
Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this
to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very
bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the
oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how the stove worked!).
Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to
push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he
tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs,
getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Dad
standing at the door.
Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do
was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a
scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just
watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying
son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and
sticky in the process.
That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but
it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a
friend or we can't stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we
just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to
do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even
though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might
mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes," for God or for
others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad
we tried…
