I’ma Do It

Independence.

It is a tricky, tricky stage.  We have arrived at the “independent” phase with our three year old.  I can’t tell you how many times in a day I hear, “No, Momma! I’ma do it!”  Eating, putting shoes on, brushing teeth, putting toys away.  No matter the task, it seems our sweet boy is determined to give it a go all on his own… (Unless, of course, I NEED him to do it on his own.  As fate would have it, he is suddenly then utterly dependent on me.  Go figure…)

I don’t do well when things aren’t done correctly, my way, fast enough… The struggle.  And so I watch in anxious frustration when I hear the words, “I’ma do it.”  It is in that moment that his little three year old mind is focused on nothing else but doing the task at hand in the way that HE knows best, because after all, he has acquired a whole wealth of wisdom at the ripe old age of three.  Am I proud that he is growing up and showing some independence?  Well, sure.  But I know that as an adult, a parent, someone who is more experienced and wiser, that I could get those shoes on and tied twice as fast.  That my method of brushing the tooth bugs away is likely much more effective.  And that the mess could be put away much faster, and then we could just move on to the next thing.

One day it hit me.  The way it always does.  THAT is exactly how God feels about me.  He has plans and purposes for my life that I, in my feeble human mind, don’t always understand.  And so He watches, I’m sure with a small amount of sadness, as I take my life and say, “No! I’ma do it!”  I’ll work it out on my own.  I’ll do it on my own.  I’ll plan it out on my own.  Because rest assured, (insert sarcasm here) I know best.

The truth of the matter is, God’s best for my life can only happen when I learn that He is much wiser than I.  He can tie my shoes twice as fast, brush the tooth bugs of my life away, and gather up the mess most quickly so that we can just move on to the next thing.

He’s a good God.  He wants what is best for me.  And one day I will learn the folly in saying, “No! I’ma do it!”