My Most Prized Possession...

I love this time of year. Around 6:00 every night the temperature is perfect and during this time of year I purposely plan our supper time around it so that we can eat outside. If it weren't for the 6.5 million misquitoes that drink tons of my blood (they love me and Grace) it would be perfect. Well, tonight- despite the misquitoes- it was perfect. Grace and I had a LONG day in Birmingham at an eye appointment, then the adoption clinic, and you could say....well....Grace's listening skills were not performing at thier best today. So tonight I'm so thankful that God made my heart sensitive to the lesson he was trying to teach me.

I, of course, was frustrated because Grace had been a tornado since we had gotten home. I'm sure we lost almost an entire box of crayons to the dogs because someone didn't put them up when she was finished, and the guest room looked like a hurricane had gone through it because of the insane number of times that Grace had changed personalities and put on different dress up clothes. In 10 minutes we went from being a butterfly, to an agent spy that looked strangely like an indian, to someone vaguely resembling Hannah Montana and then to a ballerina. And then it happened.

Grace walked outside and said, "Mommy, I have a prize for you." Now she had already told me this like six times inside the house. But I was so "busy" trying to get supper outside so that we could have the perfect dinner. Really, I am SO ashamed to say, I reluctantly took it just so she wouldn't ask me again. It is the pink envelope she is holding in the picture. Inside of that envelope are ALL of her valentines from her party at school- last February. When I asked her why she was giving me her valentine's she responded, "They are my most prized possession." So then I asked, "Honey, why are you giving me your most prized possession?" Her response was, "Because I love you."

{Enter the gasping and the Ahhh comments here}

This sweet, sweet angel taught me a HUGE lesson tonight. I mean, trust me. She's had better days. And even in the difficult situations we had today, she loved me so much that she looked past all of that to give me her most prized possession.

Isn't that just like God? Even in all of our ugliness that we have sometimes God loved us enough to give us his most prized possession in his perfect and Holy son Jesus. When I was taking advantage of this teachable moment with my child and explaining this to her she responded just like Grace usually does with...."Yea. I know that already."

Thank you so much God for loving me enough to look past all the trivial, crazy, and stupid things I get side tracked with to remind me of what is most important. I have kept Grace's prized possession and will put it away to give her later on in life when she needs a reminder (just like I needed today) that she is one of God's most prized possessions.

So- for that- she earned herself a little ice cream Sundae with WHATEVER she wanted on it. I honestly don't know how she ate all of that, but she did! And she loved every bit of it! And I'm so happy I had my camera handy to capture the moment!