Realistic Expectations

The Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed.
Psalms 103:13-14



“ Watch out! Can’t you be more careful?” It seemed lately like Jackie had been saying
those words far too often to her six-year-old, Katie. This time her daughter’s love of ketchup had resulted in a large tomato stain on a brand-new tablecloth. It had been a long day already, and Jackies temper flared as the angry words tumbled out, she saw Katie’s quivering lip and tear slip out of the corner of her eye.

Jackie felt terrible. Sure, the bottle had fallen over, but her daughter had not intentionally
made a mountain of ketchup on the table. It was an accident. Jackie had responded inappropiately and barked an angry response without thinking.
She stopped wiping the stain and reached across the table to give her child a hug. And then she looked her straight in the eye and said, “ I’m sorry I yelled at you. Will you forgive Mommy?”

Later, while finishing the dishes, that Katie was only six years old. She often expected her to behave as if she were nine or ten.
Thankfully, God isn’t like that. He remembers how He made us. And in his compassion, He never expects more from us than He knows we can do or be.

Have a heart that never hardens,
a temper that never tires, and
a touch that never hurts.

The question for the day is “ I want to be more like Jesus, who always seems?”
Taken out of the book of “Quiet Moments with God for Women.”