Lip gloss and Highlighters

I love watching Emma figure out the world around her. This morning, I watched as she sat on the floor for a good 15-20 minutes with a pen, highlighter, lip gloss, and cell phone (yes, all very dangerous in the hands of a 22-month old) trying to figure each one out and if they somehow worked together. She'd play with each individual object, and then put the pen on top of the highlighter, or close the phone on the pen, or try any various combination, stopping only to turn and say, "Wook, wook Mommy," when she came up with what she deemed an interesting combo. I couldn't help but stop and watch her for awhile as she worked so hard to make sense of her little world. There's so much that she has to learn, but she's come so far in her 22 months of life.

I wonder if God ever looks at us like that. If he sits back and watches us try all these different ways to make sense of our world, and patiently thinks, "You just don't get it. You know so little...but you've come a long way... someday you'll see things as they really are." There are days when I think I have everything figured out and other times I realize just how clueless I am. How far I have to go. But, there's always progress. I'm always being shaped by the world around me, and I can always look back and see the hand of a loving God guiding me and working around me, even if I fail to notice.

I'm confident in my daughter's abilities to figure things out, and I'll guide her along the way. I'll enjoy watching her work hard in her toddler way, delight in her progress, and be patient when she throws a hissy fit when she can't get the cap to the lip gloss back on herself. She's come a long way...