Nathan (20 months old, now) has been in this phase of life for awhile, and amidst the struggle to hold him down so I can change his diaper, I sing songs and talk to him (in kind of a grunting voice sometimes, since I'm simultaneously in a wrestling match...) and I'm usually saying something like, "Hey! I'm trying to help you. Don't you want a clean bum? Surely you don't want to walk around in poop all day, right? I'm helping you. This is a good thing. This is going to feel better. AND you're gonna smell better! We all win when you smell better..." And the whole time, he's arching his back and screaming at me, and thrashing his legs and reaching down trying to grab the dirty diaper so he can throw it, and it ends up being WAY more of a mess and taking WAY longer than it should have because he's resisting.
Today, as I was saying these things to Nathan while he fought his diaper change, the thought occurred to me, I wonder if sometimes we are walking around in poop because we won't let our Father in Heaven help us. Maybe we fight what we're supposed to be learning so much that we make a bigger mess of things than they need to be. Maybe we are wrestling for longer than needed because we are resisting. I wonder if Father is ever saying the exact same thing to us while we're struggling with life lessons we're supposed to learn.
Hey! I'm trying to help you.
This is going to be good for you.
I know you're uncomfortable for a few minutes (weeks, months, years) but you're going to feel so much better when I'm done with you. You're going to BE so much better when I'm done with you.
And if you be still, and let me help you, you will feel better faster.
So today, I'm gonna work on recognizing when Father may be helping me in ways I don't normally perceive as help. I'm gonna work on trusting that the hard experiences I have in this life are ultimately for my good and will make me better. And just like the frequency of diaper changes, I know I'm probably gonna have a LOT of opportunities in my life to learn to be still and trust. But hopefully, if I keep practicing these things, I'll be walking around in waaaay less poop. Who knows? Maybe I'll even graduate from diaper changes someday!
