inklings

Softie - pt. 2
i could tell Sloanie needed to talk to me one morning, so i sent the other children out of my room & waited for her to start. She has these huge eyes & there were tears welling up in them. She sort of laughed & said, 'i don't know why i always feel like crying lately!'... i waited again, folding diapers...
'Mom... the other day when i was watching the kids.... i yelled at them...'
'mmmhmmm?'
'& then they wrote me a big apology on the white board & said all kinds of nice things... & it made me feel horrible'...
'yeh...'
'lately, i don't know why i'm so mean.... i would give anything if i could make myself be nicer to the little guys...'
i told her that *that* inkling... that desire... that *conviction* was put there by the Holy Spirit ~ because God loves her & He's trying to teach her something. Her job now, is to be sensitive to that still small voice, to pick herself up when she fails, to have the humility to apologize & the grace to move on & strive to do better.
i love when my little ones remind me of the things i know to be true.
The Holy Spirit *convicts* us with teeny nudges...
The enemy wants to destroy us with *condemnation*...
There's a huge difference between the two.
Conviction tells us that if we're in a relationship with God, we'll want to learn to be more like Jesus...
Condemnation tells us that we will never ever measure up & that we're a hopeless cause...
Conviction brings us to a place of repentance.
Condemnation brings us to a place of despondency.
i want to teach my littles to listen to that still small voice... that *inkling* that tells them to strive to be more like Jesus & to be soft to His leading. i want to teach them to shrug off condemnation because we don't need to bear those kinds of burdens.
i remember once when i was little, my mom took me into this grimy pawn shop. She was looking around... & all of a sudden, i tugged at her arm & said, 'can we get out of this place? It gives me the creeps.'
Mom immediately took me by the hand & walked us out of there. Once out, i remember she told me, "Paige, i want you to *always* listen to that voice. God gives us those feelings for a reason."
It's a learned habit, to listen for God's voice.
& it can become a habit to ignore it too.
May i daily become more sensitive to His leading...
& tender & obedient to His conviction...