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Getting what I deserve

On this particular Saturday I was downstairs in the office listening to a podcast. I thought I heard Brad and Katie Beth laughing really hard through the headphones. I WAS WRONG. Brad came down with a look on his face that is best described as terror. He needed me upstairs. Katie Beth had been crying really hard, not laughing. As he was blow drying her hair she leaned on a vase causing it to shatter. Her finger was split wide open. Blood was everywhere. Let me restate that A LOT OF BLOOD WAS EVERYWHERE!!! The floor, the sink, the counter, the mirror, their clothes...EVERYWHERE. I applied pressure to the cut. Eventually we determined that a trip to the E.R. was not necessary. Brad began cleaning up the blood and broken glass. Eventually the blood clotted and I sent Katie Beth to her room to recover.

As we continued cleaning the mess Brad and I shared a tense conversation. He was angry because he had told her not to lean on the vase and she disobeyed. "Deana she could have......." a million worst case scenarios spilled out. I stopped him and said, "She wasn't, she was protected. We were protected. It is time to rejoice."

I went in to talk with Katie Beth. Her first question was hard. "Mom did I get what I deserved or was this a consequence?" I paused. I prayed. I hugged her. Eventually I said,"If you mean is God in heaven looking down and happy you got hurt because you disobeyed your daddy then NO that is not the case. God is never happy about His children being hurt. I do not know what the true consequence is for your accident because things could have been so much worse. You could have lost a finger. You could have hurt your eyes very badly. It seems to me like you were protected. I do know that anytime we disobey we should not be allowed in God's presence or have His protection so you did not get what you deserved either."

After that Brad came in and we talked to her about the selfishness of her disobedience. She asked Brad for forgiveness. Brad forgave her and engulfed her small frame in his arms. Then we prayed to ask God help her obey the next time. And then we thanked God for protecting her from the consequences and providing Jesus as way to continue to be in His prescence. We thanked Him for His forgiveness. And we thanked Him for His Holy Spirit that can help Katie Beth the next time.

Nuggets:

Disobedience hurts you and the ones who love you.

Fear leads to what ifs and what ifs steal our joy.

Lies are planted in trauma. The thought, am I getting what I deserve or is this a consequence, shows a root lie. "I alone control my destiny." If I am good enough all will go well or if I am bad enough I will be punished. In my experiences with God bad occurs, good occurs but His provision, protection, and plan for my life always bring me to a place that serves HIM best.
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