'Enlightenment From Mallory'

(Pastor James Scarborough, Donalsonville Assembly of God)

Things are a lot different at our house now since Mallory and her mother have moved out. Gale and I are now experiencing the empty nest, but we are also finding that the previous nest dwellers fly in frequently to get nourishment at the old nest before returning to their new abode.

Last week Mallory wanted to stay overnight with Nana and Papa, which I thought was an excellent idea. It happened that Gale was at work for several hours after Mallory got to our house, thus leaving just the two of us to have some quality granddaddy/granddaughter time together. This, too, I thought to be an excellent idea. I did not have to be concerned about having enough to talk about to keep conversation going until Nana got home--it is amazing how many words a five-yearold little girl can expel in a short period of time!

Included in our discussions was Mallory's insight concerning frenchfries. She told me that when you bite into frenchfries they have mashed potatoes on the inside! In my five decades of life, it never occurred to me that that was what that was; I thought it was just frenchfries all the way through. Glad she cleared up that mystery for me.

Just as the sun was setting, she went with me to get the clothes off the line. As little girls will do, she wanted to help (after having raised two daughters, Gale and I understand that this is a temporary condition that they get over at about age 10 and lose all desire to volunteer for such tasks!). I could not refuse her offer, but it came with a price. I could have gotten the clean laundry in the house in a third of the time if I had done it alone, but I allowed her to help. It is very humbling to watch freshly washed items falling to the ground before being picked up and placed in the basket. But can a little blond who admires you as the hero of her life do anything wrong?

As I patiently allowed her to help me get the wash in, it came to mind how tremendously patient God is with us. He allows us to "help" Him with things that He could do much more effectively and efficiently than we ever could. He loves us even when we make a mess of the simple tasks that He assigns to us. And when we occasionally (or perhaps more accurately, often) dirty up what He has already cleaned up, He still loves us and makes provision for us to be cleaned up all over again. Even when we take far more time than we should to get things done for Him, He waits patiently as He teaches us what He wants us to learn and guides us to where He wants us to be.

When we begin to think that we have done God a huge favor deserving personal recognition because of some task we have done in His name, we need to stop and remember that He has simply allowed us to have opportunity to serve Him and He has granted us another chance to be taught by Him. Our desire should be the same as that expressed by David in Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground" (NIV).

My time with Mallory was productive--I taught her about getting laundry off the line and she helped me realize the patience of God. As for the mashed potatoes in the middle of french-fries, I'll just take her word on that one!