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10 Minutes Peace
by Susan McGrath
As I worked on the computer one evening my two-year-old was busy creating a work of his own.
I didn't hear a sound (which should have tipped me off right away), but when I came through the kitchen to search for him -- there he was in front of an open cabinet putting the crowning touch on a tower of food to rival any toddler-engineered project in history!
The foundation consisted of cans of green beans and tomatoes, upper stories featured a jar of peanut butter and containers of lemonade. Precariously perched on top was a gleaming glass bottle of taco sauce.
A horrible vision of collapse and a red, spicy layer of sauce spattered over the kitchen flashed through my head.
I shifted into preventative mode and gently moved my son away while praising him for constructing such a marvelous monument.
Just to clarify -- our son does have a few toys, among them Lego's, Duplo blocks, wooden blocks, cardboard alphabet blocks, stacking cups and some others I can't think of at the moment. So why would he rather stack vegetables when he has a roomful of bright-colored, mind-stimulating toys?
Who can fathom what goes on in the brain of a two-year-old.
This is the kind of thing I used to get really uptight about. My mouth would logically and loudly explain that we "don't do things like that", while my hands would become compulsive and hurriedly put everything back into its proper place.
Instead, I called my husband in to see what out "little genius" had built and grabbed a camera to preserve his masterpiece for years to come.
I still don't have the patience I need in many situations. I don't always stop and enjoy all the little moments that I should or could. But God has extended his grace to me in all that I do. He has blessed me in so many ways. Surely I can show some of the same to others and be an example to my children of God's love.
- 1 Timothy 6:18 (paraphrased)
Rate it:
a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;
living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;
completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.
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