Stop Light

This stop light was a moment between my oldest son and I this week. We always hit this light when it is red and when I say always, I mean ALWAYS! It turns red and there is always only one car that crosses the cross street. Seems like so much trouble for just one car to cross, but the light remains there just the same for that special one car to pass. It is so hard to be patient after that car has crossed and we still remain looking at the red light.

One day Tyler said to me, "Mom, just go across. No one is looking." Embarssed to say, I have had that thought so many times but never acted on it. This was my moment. Sometimes, or should I say "lots of times", God brings these moments to teach not only our children, but ourselves. This is what came to my mind at that moment. The Bible verse came later, but the saying came first,

"Character is doing the right thing even when no one is looking"

Matthew 6: 17-19
"But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you."

Of course, we weren't fasting, but I really thought about how much we want others to know when we make the right decisions. Sometimes it needs to be just between us and God and those sometimes are precious because no one else knows. It is the private moments that make a relationship develop. The intimate sharing without self-gratification.

Fasting was a very important moment in the Bible, yet God wanted to make sure that it was a private moment and that people weren't walking around looking like they were starving and miserable so others could pity and say how righteous they must be. It seems more tempting to make a production of our right decisions that are private, than getting away with something in private. This challenges me daily, and I am thankful for Tyler posing the question and making me think. Children are wonderful at asking the important questions and God is wonderful at showing the answers.