I've just had a sticky sieve through. My hands needed quite a wash after, especially to get rid of the hair that was stuck to them. Heave.
I found;
a fidget spinner,
5 hair clips,
Lego legs,
Lego hair,
more Lego,
a tiny brush,
a Downfall key,
42p,
a pen,
a Spiderman badge,
a tiny car,
a Ballet slipper,
2 Playmobile plates,
a tiny gun,
2 unidentified objects
and a Harmonica.
I was struck by a couple of things. Firstly, that I was continuing to look for the iPod, after my son had gone to bed. I was reminded of God's fathering of me; how He goes out looking for the one, even though He knows the 99 are safe. Someone reminded me this week that I
was the 1 that God goes looking for. I always thought I was in the 99 in that Bible illustration...I've been a Christian since I was 6, baptised at 12, I'm the wife of an elder, I help lead a church site...pretty sure I'm in the 99. But my friend pointed out to me that the story isn't about me, and where I am, what I'm doing. It's about the Father, it's about the Shepherd. And He is always out searching for me, calling my name, reminding me of His voice. And to be fair, I had even been feeling quite lost, so it was a great encouragement.
Secondly, I was amused at what was salvaged out of the box. To be honest, I reckon I could have chucked the contents and it wouldn't have mattered much at all. A certain husband of mine, would have done just so.The harmonica lost forever, surely could only be a good thing! You know what would happen if I'd indeed chucked it all? In about 3 weeks someone would no doubt be crying because a tiny pink hair brush was lost. Apart from that, I'm not really sure anything else would have been noticed.
As I sieved through the dirt and wrappers, and sticky hair, I thought about parenting. My mother in law told me that some of mothering is just being a bin; our kids can off load their rubbish, so they don't have to carry it around with them. Totally makes sense, but feels a bit naf, a bit grimy, and a bit rubbish to be honest. (Excuse the intentional pun). Who wants that job?!
The amusing thing is that my littlest girl loves our three burly bin men. She waves at them frantically on a Monday morning, and last week they even gave her a brand new pair of Bin Lorry gloves. She was over the moon, and took them in to show at nursery. They literally take our rubbish away, week after week. They do it with precision. They do it because it needs to be done. And they do it with joy. They are three smiley, waving men, making my little girl feel important to them! What a lesson to learn from the bin men.
And somewhere in what can at times feel like the rubbish of parenting, there are indeed treasures to be found. The tiny gun and the tiny plates will make two different people happy they've been found. The Lego will just go back into the boxes, so no-one will even know they were lost and now found, but I will know. Sometimes I do question what God is doing with me...some of it comes to be known, understood, appreciated even, and some of it only He knows the purpose of. It's the same with parenting... some of my choices for them, may one day be recognised, maybe even appreciated. Hahahahah.... Maybe they will wake up one day and call me 'Blessed', like the Proverbs suggest. But a lot of it, they may not even see, they may not ever realise the 'why' of what I've been doing, but I know the value of the things I've put in them, the Biblical principles I've aimed for. I also get that they learn from my muck ups, and my rubbish that there is only one perfect parent; their Heavenly Father. That's reassuring!
I'm so thankful to Him that He doesn't just chuck me away. He knows there's treasure, gems to go after. He knows the value of things. He knows He had to get His hands dirty in the process of saving me from my muck. He sent His son to die for me, to get rid of the rubbish, the muck and declare all the treasure He sees in me. Parenting is sometimes just hard, and it feels a bit rubbish. Sometimes its an unbelievable joy, and makes me laugh out loud, and feel incredibly blessed, even if they don't call me it. But this morning I'm reminded to just go after a tiny plate, a hair clip, a badge...one thing at a time, not everything in one go, and to celebrate what gets found along the way.
"I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
and making their treasuries full." Proverbs 8v17-21