Stop! Don't come, Mom!

“Don’t come, MOM!” yelled my four year old daughter. I turned around from my Sunday School curriculum and saw my little girl scurry away from me. I had to investigate, because those words don’t come out of her mouth for no reason at all. As I tried to follow her down the church’s hallway, she turned around and put her hand up to me and said, “Stop.” Then she disappeared into the classroom where she had been eating lunch. As I approached the classroom door, I peered into the window and saw her strategically trying to cover up her spilled chocolate milk with small napkins.

I’ve seen many types of clutter where young ones are trying to clean up their untidiness before the teacher or an adult sees it, but it ends up being too big for them to clean up. They either sweep it under the rug or throw everything into a closet. I, myself, have done the same thing in my own home after everything is left in shambles. I typically turn down help from my husband or friends. I too would say, “Stop, I’ve got it.” But…

Should that be my first response?

Should I turn away help?

I watched my daughter through the door’s window try so vigorously to clean up her spill. Her attempt at cleaning just made the puddle of chocolate milk grow bigger and bigger. She didn’t realize that if she would just ask for my help the clean up would be so much easier. The milk splatter was her mistake no matter how big it was. Her focus was on how not disappoint me and keeping herself out of trouble. That is when it hit me; I do that to God. When I become impulsive and spend more than my budget allows, I don’t ask God for help. Instead I try to fix it myself by doing extra jobs and usually it makes a bigger heap of problems in the long run. 

But God never peers into the window of our lives and says, “I’m disappointed in you.” He actually says, “My child, It’s okay. Let me help you. All you have to do is ask.”

In the end my daughter did finally let me help her clean up, and it took only a few minutes for us to clean it together. It was actually a small spill from my point of view, but an overwhelming one from hers. I wasn’t mad at her. I was thrilled that my daughter invited me into her mess. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says to the church “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” 

God just wants us to invite him into the turmoil of our lives. Even if I am ashamed and embarrassed of my mistakes, I need to let God in. My daughter taught me an important lesson that day. It is never too late to say to God “Please come in! I need your help.”