Goodness, just when I thought I was doing well on my New Year's Resolution to not complain.  A little time goes by, and I fall right back into my bad habit of whining about where God has me in life and what people He has chosen to place there with me.

Have you ever truly read Jeremiah 12:1-5?  These verses were my devotions a couple of days ago.  I pick my devotions by random each night for the next day.  My Bible's heading says "Jeremiah's Complaint".  Kind of appropriate, don't you think? 

This is part of the first verse: "You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you.  Yet I would speak with you about your justice…" At this time in Jeremiah's life, the people of Judah were plotting his death.  Jeremiah is speaking of his would be murderers when he wonders why "…the wicked are prospering…" and the "…faithless are living at ease…" Moreover, Jeremiah wants God to "drag them off like sheep to be butchered."  He also asks the Lord they be "set apart for the day of slaughter."

Jeremiah begins well, don't you think?  Paying God a nice compliment about what a good job He's doing in the judge and jury department.  It was well deserved.  I have no problem with that.  Jeremiah's suggestion for sentencing seemed a little harsh to me, but God didn't tell him no, so who am I to say?

You see, it was the "yet" of the next sentence that caught my eye.  "Yet".   Isn't that another word for "but"?  Isn't Jeremiah questioning God's plan? Isn't Jeremiah not trusting God to take care of the situation?  Isn't Jeremiah telling God he thinks he has a better idea on how to deal with these people?

Isn't that a little like me saying "I think you're doing a swell job God on making my children into perfect angels but …………..I think things would move along a lot quicker and cause me less stress as a parent if you would just strike them with a lightning bolt of comprehension of household rules and regulations.  And if it's not too hard, could you add a jolt or two of total obedience and brotherly love?"

God's answer to Jeremiah for why He does what He does pierced my heart when I read it.  He tells Jeremiah, "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?  If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" 

Oops!  Big revelation to me on how small my perspective of parenting is.  Right now, most of my complaints are about endless piles of laundry, stacks of dirty dishes, baths to give to little boys, playing referee in the NBA (Nasty Brat Association), feeding nutritious snacks to bottomless pits, and wondering if when I go in to check on my sleeping angels at night, am I going to step on a really sharp Lego and have small, circular scars on the bottom of my foot for the rest of my life?

If I can't handle running with and keeping up with my little ponies now, what am I going to do when they grow up to be horses?  If they wear me out now, what kind of energy and stamina will I need when driving lessons start?  Or (gulp) dating?  Or helping them decide which college to go to?  If they even want to go to college!

As for stumbling in safe country…sometimes I do know what 1,485,876 x 435 is, thank you very much.  I may even know why helium sucked from a balloon makes your voice sound funny and why you shouldn't do it a lot!  I can probably, with a little help from my Bible, explain God's plan of salvation, why we need it, and how we can get it.  I feel I can stand upright on my own two feet most of the time.  Occasionally I don't know the answers to life's little questions, but that's what the Internet is for, right?

The thought of trying to explain the thickets scares me to death.  (Why do people get divorced when God says it's wrong?  How can Uncle So and So live with someone and not be married to her?  What--since we just sang "Silent Night" a few weeks ago, sing it all the way through and you'll know where I'm coming from-- is a virgin?  Why is it okay for me to hold my brother's hand to cross the street, but it's not okay for two men to hold hands?)  How will I manage it? 

I think I have a pretty good idea where to start.

First of all, letting God have His way and will in my life without complaint.  He truly wants the best for me and gets me there by giving me opportunities to learn how to be more like Him.   Even if I don't like the lessons and sometimes fail miserably.  He teaches me through situations in my life:  A furnace that needs fixed in the middle of winter, right after buying it for Christmas.  A car that should still be relatively brand new, but has been wrecked more times than attempts for good manners from my children at mealtimes.  A washing machine that we have to use a screwdriver to start.  A house that constantly looks as if the FBI has been there and searched it for illegal contraband (if they would have just asked, I would have gladly told them where the Oreos and Doritos were hidden!).

He teaches me through the people He brings into my life.  Relatives who can't seem to understand why I live my life the way I do and tell me how weird I am for living it that way; I can't tell them why I think the way they live is weird and mine is normal.  Strangers who are always asking me what is that big red spot on my youngest child's head.  There are teachers everywhere I look. 

Second, I'm going to try and eliminate the words "yet" and "but" from my conversations with God, focusing more on my "thank you Lord for the blessings you've given me and for what You have done, are now doing and are going to do in my life".  As a parent it's hard to not want to tell someone how you think things should be run.  Just ask my kids.  But He is the Father of us all, and as much as I want the best for my three boys (even when they think it's the worst), He wants even better for His children.

And last, but not least, I need to realize I am never going to understand and will most definitely stumble with algebra, science, electronic equipment and why none if it works when I touch it.  As for the thickets, I have the best possible road map to guide me through them and the greatest Navigator to show me a clear path to peaceful waters when I can't seem to find the way on my own.  If I will only let Him lead and stop complaining about how long the trip is taking, how boring the scenery is, how bumpy and uneven the path is,  how tired I am, and what I can't stand about my fellow travelers.

Lord, it's me again.  I just wanted to thank you for my children.  That they are healthy enough to play with their toys.  Thank You for the medicines which I can give them when they are not healthy.  I want to thank You for the food You provide that nourishes their bodies.  Thank You for the clothes that keep them warm.  Thank You for the water that not only quenches our thirst, but also cleans our clothes in a washing machine that isn't a rock by a river somewhere.  Thank You for a roof over our head at night, a warm bed, and walls to keep us safe.  Thank You for Your Son and that my husband and my children know Him as Savior.  Do you remember my resolutions for this year?  I really need some help keeping them.  I know I'm not going to keep them a great deal of the time.  I promise to work really hard and do my best.  Will you help me?  Teach me how to run with the horses and how to find my way in the thickets.  You are God, and You are awesome!  Amen