Many of you have been there, so you know what's coming. After a long morning of shopping, everyone needed a nap, especially mommy.
It was an exciting adventure. Izzie listened and obeyed. Isaac was incredibly happy to sleep in the front pack in all five stores we ventured into. I remember thanking the Lord, as I drifted off to sleep, for all three of us being able to nap at the same time.
Little did I know only two of us slept.
I awoke grumpy with the neighbor's dog for disturbing my sleep, but became increasingly annoyed as I glanced at the clock and heard Izzie singing in her room after only a 45-minute nap.
Calming myself, I decided to go in and ask her to "keep it down" while mommy finished her nap. Upon opening the door, I knew what had kept her awake: an incredible stench, poo.
Before I could exhale all of my venom on her, Izzie was confessing.
"Mommy, I got poop on my nightgown. See! Here's my panties!" As she raced across the room to show me her shame on the nightstand.
I tried to walk toward her, but as I did, I noticed about twelve brown spots all over the carpet, cream colored carpet.
Maybe you handled it better than I did when you walked in on your two-and-a-half year old slinging poo every where, but I didn't.
As I was telling Izzie how angry mommy was with her, she started to cry and protest, "But I got fresh panties!"
That's when I noticed all the wipes everywhere. In an attempt to clean up the mess, she used almost an entire package of wipes scrubbing each spot on the floor.
Talk about being at a loss. My anger was to the point that I had to distance myself from the situation. I just couldn't rationalize why she didn't use the toilet or even why she didn't come ask me for help in the clean up process. So I cleaned her up, put her to bed, and announced that there was no talking to mommy until after she napped.
It took me a few minutes to regain my senses, and I sat on the bottom step of our staircase and prayed. "Lord Jesus, please help me understand..." and before I could even get the prayer out of my mouth, I heard him speak.
"Look, Krista. This is an example of what happens when you try to do things in your own strength. Instead of asking for My help to intervene in a situation, you, too, smear it around making a bigger mess."
Imagery burnt upon my memory. Check. Got it, Lord.
So in a bit, when Izzie wakes, I am going to ask her forgiveness, remind her of potty basics, and then get on my hands and knees to clean up the poo properly. As I scrub, I will give thanks to God that he is ready and willing and more than capable to step in and clean up my life when I need him.
'Cause Lord only knows I have a lot of poo in it.
Lord Jesus, thank you for speaking to me so clearly. Teach me to humble myself and ask for help when I need it. Amen.
