Cadence

These days Cadence is quite the active little girl with an ever-expanding vocabulary. At times I am so amazed at the things a 2 year old can do....while at other times I am completely frustrated at the things a 2 year old can do! Cadence has mastered doors and locks pretty well....resulting in mommy being locked out of the house one day after taking some trash out. She enjoys coloring and drawing happy faces. I recently introduced her to the world of painting as well. She attempts to sing the A,B,C song....you can at least recognize the tune and some of the letters. She can count to three, which is as far as she will go so far, despite my coaxing to learn to say "four". She can also now change out DVD's and turn them on, turn on the radio and CD's, as well as turn on the microwave (all no-no's). On day she tried to microwave her magnetic alphabet letters...that could've been ugly!

She loves to be involved in everything we are doing and is constantly asking to "help". A toddler's help can be great at times, and not so great at others. For instance, when my phone is ringing in another room, or I need the baby's pacifier, she is usually eager to fetch those things for me. However her "help" today also resulted in her freshly prepared lunch plate getting dumped all over the kitchen floor...which she got to help clean up. But most of the time we do try to find ways to include her in our daily activities in age appropriate ways...even if this means the task will take 2-3 times longer to complete than if we had done it ourselves. This allows Cadence to learn new skills, but also increases her self esteem, and her sense of belonging. The joy she expresses at being able to be by our side and accomplish something new is so priceless.

I can't help but think this is how it is with us and God. He includes us in His work, though he really doesn't need our help, and could probably get the job done better and more quickly without us. Instead He chooses to relate with us...He allows us to learn and grow and builds our confidence and sense of worth by this inclusion in His plans and purposes (and I'm pretty sure God's patience is far more endless than my own too).

What's more is how often Cadence also recognizes some of her own limits and asks us to help her with something. Granted some of these requests for help are whiny, tearful expressions of pure frustration...sometimes after throwing a toy across the room, but then again...how often do I approach God with my problems in a similar manner? What we aspire to teach Cadence is that we will be here to help her. We are trying to teach her it's ok to be frustrated and to come to us when that happens rather than throw things and hit. Sometimes I watch her in a tantrum and can't help but chuckle to myself and think that's how I must look to God at times. I'm just so thankful for His endless patience and unconditional love towards me in those ugly moments. I'm so glad He's a God I can approach in all sorts of ugly...and I hope we can be like that as parents for our children...to give them a little glimpse of God here on earth, to help acquaint them with the ways of their Creator.