Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his
parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair
to the counter, opened the cupboard, and pulled out the heavy
flour canister, spilling it on the floor.
He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed
in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury
trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his
kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated.
He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it
was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether to
put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how
the stove worked!).
Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and
reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.
Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped
on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.
Just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears
welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something
good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was
coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.
Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son,
hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and
sticky in the process.
That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in
life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or
we insult a friend or we can't stand our job or our health goes
sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't
think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and
loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all
over Him.
But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make
pancakes," for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it
right, and then they'll be glad we tried...
