And He Clothed Them

Have I told you about the time Wesley had woken up from nap and Daniel asked if he could go and play with Wesley, which meant throw stuffed animals into the crib so that Wesley could throw them back out, only to repeat time and time again with large amounts of laughter? No? Well, that is how it started……..and then I realized how much laughing was going on and how long it had actually been, so I went upstairs to check on them. Turns out, the copious laughter was nothing when in comparison to the amount of baby powder sprinkled all over the room, along with every item of clothing taken out of Wesley’s dresser and all toys from the book shelves thrown on the floor. Oh, and diaper rash cream was rubbed all over the carpet.

All this with giggles galore emitting from the room. Let me just tell you though, when Momma walked into the room, she was not laughing. Did I yell? No. Did I want to yell? Yes. But I managed control this time and sent Daniel to sit in his room on his bed while I calmed down……and called Daddy so I could complain. Next, we began the cleaning process.

How about the time Daniel decided to wake up early, come downstairs, and sneak around the house, getting into items he knew he shouldn’t? Usurping my makeup bag off the bathroom counter, he took out the mascara and artistically painted his foot. He also grabbed my lipstick and covered his mouth. For a nice morning meal, he stole cookies out of the pantry and quietly nibbled on them while I continued to snooze in the bed.

I scolded him for doing what he knew was wrong. I sat in the floor next to him,on the verge of tears, flabbergasted from the scene that I woke to that morning. Together, we began to scrub his foot in attempts to wipe away the ebony streaks.

I’ve mentioned his thievery. I’ve cried because he pulled all the petals off of my houseplant while I thought he was napping. I yelled at him the morning I took a shower and he and his brother made that a prime opportunity to push the water dispenser on the fridge until there was 2 inches of crisp, cold water all over my kitchen floor, not to mention soaking wet kids and toys swimming in a new aquatic environment. Together with my husband, I have stood astounded when we discovered Daniel in the midst of a “game” that involved his own feces, wondering what in the world might have possessed him to think, even for a single solitary moment, that it was a good idea. I have certainly sighed at the messes my boys have made and the trouble they have caused, knowing a lot of work and effort would be involved in cleaning.

And you know what happened every single time? I still loved them. I may have gotten angry, my blood pressure might have risen, time was certainly lost, products were wasted, plants killed, and tears shed but the love was always there.

Why does the love always remain? Because He, Christ, first did that very thing for me.

When Adam and Eve messed up royally, changing the course for all man kind by their actions, God got angry and he punished them for their actions. The ground was cursed for every man because of Adam. Every woman was doled a punishment because of Eve.
God was upset. He observed the mess, and while completely exasperated by their actions, asked “What is this you have done?”

He scolded and sighed, and I am going to bet he cried.

Then, after His children did something bad, God did the following:

“The Lord God made garments for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.” Genesis 3:21

Now that is love.

So, even when the mess is great, the trouble is large, and stress over the situation is ripping us apart at the seams, we clothe our dear children.

They will still be punished, and things may never return back to the way they were 5 minutes before the event.

Regardless, we parents are called to clothe them, because He first clothed us.