Delayed Dandelion

"A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER FOR A BEAUTIFUL GIRL"

Summer has FINALLY arrived here, in Eastern Washington. Last week held a low of 45 degrees F and I found myself wearing a down feather coat in mid-June. Not anymore! This week it is all sundresses, sunglasses, and sandals. With a high of 88 degrees forecasted for tomorrow, I recognize that it is important for my kids and I to get outside early for our (attempted) daily walk- before the heat of the day arrives.

This morning, my three year old daughter was playing with a new toy. I asked her, about 4 different times, to stop playing with her toy and to put her shoes on so that we could get going on our walk. Each time, she had an excuse for not listening to me. Or, she would say "I am, Mom," while making no action to indicate that she was actually obeying. Finally, after what felt like forever of trying to convince my threenager to listen and trying (unsuccessfully) not to lose my mom-cool, we made it out the door.

Our walk was delightful. It included puddle stomping, neighbor greeting, butterfly watching and flower picking. 

What was my favorite part of our family walk today, you ask? What could trump the part where my daughter handed me a dandelion flower she'd picked, saying "a beautiful flower for a beautiful girl?" The part where God spoke to me. As is His most common way of doing so, this communication came in the vehicle of an interaction with my kids. This time it went like this:

My 3 y.o. daughter: "Have I been a good listener today, Mom?"
Me: "Yes. Right now you are doing great listening. Thank-you. Earlier you didn't do so good, when we were trying to leave for this walk. I asked you to put your shoes on, and it took you a long time to obey."
Holy Spirit: "Delayed obedience is disobedience. What have I asked of you that you have been putting off doing,  Heather?"

Newly washed in humility and gratitude for this heightened awareness of God's ever-present love expressed by His guidance, my mind (having been in The Word this morning) turned to:

Micah 6:8 (NIV)

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

In reflecting on this I felt conviction (defined here as: a convinced conscience) of the need to love mercy. For me, today, this means that I am to forgive my husband for that 'thing' he did yesterday that I feel wronged about and to love him free of any bitterness. This means that I am to do this NOW, not wait for him to apologize first. 

Delayed obedience is disobedience
&
Abundant blessing follows obedience, Sister.

MAY 2020

Application

?1. What is your answer to this same question from the Holy Spirit: "What have I asked of you that you have been putting off doing, Reader?"

?2. How will you go about obeying Him in this, today?

1. I encourage you to get into His Word, Sister! 

2. Minimize the distractions around you and seek Him in the Psalms, perhaps with this prayer:

Psalm 139:23-24  (NIV)

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.