Like a Child

Of all the things that I love about our eldest--her wacky sense of humor, her sense of fairness, her kindness, her beautiful voice, her encouraging spirit--the thing that I am most thankful for is her heart for the Lord.

I was thinking about this after putting her to bed the other night, having witnessed her tears over a day that she saw as full of her own transgressions. Now, her transgressions amounted to dragging her bottom when I said to brush her teeth and sit on the potty before bed (pretty serious, huh?)...but she said, through tears: "When will I stop sinning? I just want to be good!"
(Keep in mind that she was NOT attempting to manipulate herself out of being in trouble--that's her little sister's forte)

After I got over my own maternal guilt--after all, if I hadn't gotten cross, she may not have been moved to tears--I was able to see the fact that I could use a healthy dose of this same attitude.

When is the last time that my heart was soft enough to break over my disappointing my Heavenly Father by breaking his commands in such a little way--you know, the "dragging-my -bottom-refusing-to-sit-on-the-potty-before-bed" kind of thing? When was the last time I hated my naughtiness and longed to be good? Now I know all the theological ins-and-outs that tell me that I CAN'T disappoint my Heavenly Father because His Son has covered my transgressions. But I wonder if that knowledge is not as helpful in softening my heart as is the knowledge that He loves me so much that it breaks His heart when I miss the mark?

Just a thought.