Freedom

It wasn't the sound of cereal pouring into a bowl that got my attention last Saturday, it was the sound of cereal pouring and pouring and pouring. One word came to my mind....Dakota.
There was Dakota sitting so proudly with her saucer full of cereal she had poured herself. Using a plate was a classy touch! Her look to me was priceless. It was a "And you thought I needed you to get me Breakfast" look. She continued to eat her hard-earned cereal and I went for the camera.

It reminded me of myself. How many times I so proudly did something my own way and looked to God with a "And you thought I couldn't do this myself!" look. I am sure I looked just like Dakota with my plate instead of a bowl, spilling over with my cereal everywhere. Yet, God just like I did that morning gives a little smile and lets me bask in my efforts for the moment.

Having a two year old is very enlightening. This is the age when true freedom and independence is born. The true innocent realization that those two little legs that once could only crawl can run away from mom, and climb, and go places. I love watching Dakota when she thinks she is getting away with something. That pure delight of thinking she is going to outdo me this one time. Of course it doesn't always end in victory.

I love this scripture:

" But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

II Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

The freedom that Dakota has discovered is the same for us as Christians. Just like a two-year old uses their freedom to develop and grow, so God gives us freedom to do the same. We have the freedom to come to him, and in turn grow more like Him. And even when we think we know best, He lets us pour our own cereal.