Because of Your Love

How often do you read a scripture and move on because you’ve heard it so many times you know it by heart? You already know what it means, you’ve already attached it to a certain situation or person in your life, maybe you’ve even done a study based around it.  I used to skip over chunks of scripture as I was reading, because I “knew what it said.”  I was just trying to get through a passage and read as much as possible in a day so I could check it off my reading plan.

A while back, Ephesians 4:2 popped up as the verse of the day.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

I love this verse.  I used to use it all the time when we worked with teens, because someone was always looking for a reason to be upset with someone else. (Not to pick on teens. Adults do this just as much.)

But for the first time, I read Ephesians 4:2 from the standpoint of a parent.  Ouch. For the past year or so, I’ve struggled with patience for our three year old.

Really struggled.

I used to pride myself on being a long-suffering and patient mom. Nothing fazed me. Kyla could take an hour washing her hands and I’d still be smiling and playing and helping her.  But now, I find myself frustrated at the littlest things. If she doesn’t immediately get on that stool and start efficiently scrubbing her hands, I start to lose my temper. The first two years of her life I cultivated a safe place for her to explore everything, from hand washing to a piece of dirt on the floor to the alphabet. But now I just want to get things done and move on to the next thing.  I want to hurry through the things that seem small and get to the “big” things.

But we have to remember that the things that seem minuscule to us can be HUGE to someone else.  Sometimes there are moments where I see the old me seeping in, or just plain busting out.  I don’t like it.  I feel awful every time I lose my temper, every time I get frustrated with my little girl who is just finding joy in something I think is silly, every time I put her off “just one more minute” because I’ve decided whatever I am doing is more important than what she wants to show me.  I have been working on softening.  On being more patient.  On being present in every little moment.

[pullquote-right]Allow for other people to be human, too.[/pullquote-right]She’s only three.  So there are plenty of things we have to work on and teach her.  Making allowance doesn’t mean I should ignore the things that need correcting and forego discipline, but I need to correct with gentleness and patience.  With GRACE.  Because Christ allows for your faults. He corrects us, but He offers us grace in the mess we’ve made of ourselves.

Allow for your kid’s faults.  Allow for your spouse’s faults.  Allow for your parent’s faults.  Allow for your friend’s faults.  Allow for the store clerk’s faults.  Allow for the politician’s faults.  Allow for your enemy’s faults.  Allow for other people to be human, too. Why?

Because of your love. Because of His love.

Be humble.  Be gentle. Be patient.  Be love.