Thursday, September 13, 2012

Different Oatmeal

This morning was looking like it might be another one of "those" days.  I started a blog post about a crazy, hectic -- okay, pretty normal, typical -- day that we had here last week.  I still haven't finished it.  I've only been able to write about the morning so far, and the details of those 5 or so hours have taken me over 7 days to describe.  I haven't even begun with the afternoon, or evening, adventures!

Anyway, back to the present and the happenings of this morning...

All three daycare kiddos had arrived, and shortly thereafter Kellah woke up, ready to join the fun.  I nursed her and then stripped her down to just her diaper so she could eat breakfast and be ready for a quick sink bath when she was done.  I set her down in her high chair and placed her blueberries in front of her.  I then turned my attention to the two little boys and girl who were whining and fussing for my attention.  I hand them their milk cups and look back at Kellah, only to discover that she can stand up in her high chair!!!!  I quickly sat her back down, explaining very sternly that standing in her high chair was not safe -- I am sure that at almost nine months she fully grasped the severity of the situation :)

Eventually, Kellah finished eating breakfast and all the daycare kiddos found something to play with, and were actually not fighting over the same toy.  Small miracle!  I took advantage of the situation and laid Kellah on the counter to take her diaper off and plop her in the "bath" I had prepared admist the earlier chaos.  I realize that she has pooped, but I don't have wipes readily available and can't really pick her up at the moment.  So, I hold her down with one hand and stretch to reach the paper towels all the way across the counter on the other side of the sink.  Cleaned up, I put her in the water, splash her off, grab a towel, and carry her into the living room, where I put her down and turn my attention to the other 4 children in the house.

The three daycare kiddos had tired of watching me feed Kellah and bathe her, so they wandered into Coralyn's room, waking her up (granted, it was almost 8 am!).  She comes into the living room, letting me know her diaper is wet.  I take it off, put on some big girl pants, and usher her into the kitchen so she can eat her breakfast.  All this time, Kellah is streaking around the living room, playing quite contentedly in her birthday suit.  I figure I should probably at least get a diaper on her so I don't have pee -- or more poop -- on my carpet.

As I am getting Kellah's diaper and clothes for the day, I hear Coralyn complain (in the most whiny voice possible, I think), "I want different oatmeal."  I had made too much of my gluten free "hot and tasty breakfast cereal" so I had just fixed a bowl for her as well.  Apparently, she was not satisfied and wanted HER oatmeal.  I don't want to start arguing and dealing with a bad attitude this early on in the day, so I explain that I will fix her some "different" oatmeal as soon as I got Kellah in her diaper and clothes.  That is no small feat, mind you!  Kellah does NOT stay still for more than .3 seconds, so the process of putting her cloth diaper on, pinning it (with a snappie thing), getting cover on, and then actually dressing her takes some acrobatics, and lots of patience!

In the several minutes it took me to get Kellah ready for the day, Coralyn reminded me at least 8 more times that she wanted "different" oatmeal.  I assured her I had not forgotten her request, nor was I ignoring her; I simply had other -- more pressing -- matters to deal with at that very second.  As I took a deep breath and told myself to stay calm, refusing to get upset by such a little thing, especially since it was only 8:05 and there was a WHOLE LOT of day left (meaning there would be PLENTY more opportunities to get frustrated later).

As I was struggling to hold Kellah still long enough to pull her shirt over her head and telling Coralyn yet again that I would indeed get her some "different" oatmeal, it struck me how annoying we might be to God when we pray.  I know that I for one ask Him the same thing over and over and over and over again.  Maybe He didn't hear me.  Maybe He didn't understand what I said.  Maybe He didn't grasp the seriousness of my "need."  Maybe, if I tell Him again, in a slightly different way or more loudly or whatever, He will get His act together and do what I asked Him.

OR, maybe, it's kind of like me this morning when I had more pressing matters -- like dressing a baby and making sure the 3 daycare kiddos didn't hurt each other or need anything at that very minute -- than fixing Coralyn "different" oatmeal when she had a perfectly good bowl of food in front of her already.  Maybe, just maybe, what I am asking from God sounds like a ridiculous request for "different" oatmeal and He has actual needs to take care of first, before He can address my "need."  Maybe, I shouldn't get so impatient when God doesn't seem to hear or answer my prayers, in the way or time or fashion I see fit.  Maybe, I should just be grateful for what I already have and thank God for it.  Maybe, I should remember what David penned so long ago....

Psalm 66:19-20,
"But God did listen.  He paid attention to my prayer. 
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from me." 
 
 
Earlier in the passage, David recalled how the Israelites called out to God at the Red Sea as Pharoah's army was pressing in on them and they had no place to turn, no way to escape.  I am sure they might have felt like God was not answering their prayers -- hadn't they begged and cried and pleaded with Him for 400 years to free them from slavery, and now just "minutes" after they had enjoyed their newfound freedom, here come their enemies to capture them once more!  What in the world was God doing?!  Oh, nothing much, you know, just working an amazing miracle that people would be talking about thousands and thousands of years to later!
 
Yeah, maybe the next time I pray, I need to think about Coralyn's seemingly never-ending pleas for "different" oatmeal and realize that God does hear my prayers.  And He will answer them, in His timing and in the way He deems best.  Who knows, maybe, just maybe, He is planning another miraculous feat that will go down in the record books. 
 
For now, Coralyn has finished her "different" oatmeal, over an hour later and now thinks it's time for a mid-morning snack...

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