the great pudding stand-off

Tonight John Mark revealed his true stubborness. He had just eaten his supper, and since he ate his green beans without complaining, I was going to give him a treat. I got a carton of pudding from the refrigerator and showed it to him. Of course, John Mark got really excited when he saw the pudding. I told him to say "please" and he could have it.

He turned his head.
He said "no."
He asked for "BB" & "Poppy."

With each request, I told him he had to say "please."

And with each command, his fit grew.

Until he was sitting alone at the table screaming as we went on around him cleaning up the kitchen.

Finally, after several agonizing minutes, he finally managed to squeak out a "PLEASE" (insert your most pathetic, whiny voice here) and look at me with a single tear sitting on his cheek.

And at that word I was most happy to give him the treat I had wanted to give him from the beginning.

As I sat there, waiting for my stubborn little boy to do the one, simple thing I asked him to do, I thought of how many times God has asked me to do something that I felt was impossible... or maybe I just didn't feel like doing it. I wondered if He sits in heaven shaking his head saying "Just do this one thing and you'll get the gift I am longing to give to you..."

And as much as I wanted John Mark to have that pudding, how much more does MY Father long to give me the gifts He has waiting for me? If I will just "say please."

"Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is NO variation, or shifting shadow." James 1:17