Shoelaces

Today I was laughing at a card from my dad I found in my room. In the letter my dad told me how proud he was of me for sharing with my brother, being mom's helper, making my bed AND tying my shoes all by myself.

This made much more sense once I looked and saw that the letter was postmarked in 1993.

I was thinking about it as I deftly tied my shoes, and though it now seems humorous to me that someone would be proud of my ability to complete such a simple task, I have to think that this is probably how the Lord feels about us. I'm sure back in 93 I was exceptionally proud that I could tie my shoes all. by. myself. And because my father loves me more than I deserve, my triumph was his triumph.

I think about the things that I am proud of myself for now. Cooking something more complicated than rice, getting a good grade, running more than two miles consecutively. Apologizing to someone. Being generous with my belongings. Holding back a sarcastic comment (or two). Truly forgiving others.

Sitting here with this card in my hand, I can't help but feel just as silly for patting myself on the back over these "accomplishments" as I would if I was still gloating over my proficiency with shoelaces. The things I struggle to master now (such as forgiveness) are as elementary to the Lord as making my bed is to me now. As humbling as that is, I think it is monumentally cool that we serve a God who celebrates our small victories - even as He hopes for a time that we will so resemble his son that it won't be a feat of epic proportions for us to rise above our selfish motives and desires.