Milk & Cookies
Brandon climbs up on the chair and hitches himself onto the counter to pull at the cabinet door. Wham! It smashes against the adjacent cabinet door, leaving a gash where the handle hit it. Brandon reaches for a glass, accidentally knocking two others off the shelf. Crash! Tinkle, tinkle! But Brandon doesn’t care. He’s thinking, “I’m going to get Daddy some milk!”
Meanwhile, Brandon’s dad is watching all this, wondering if he should step in and save the rest of his kitchen. He decides, for the moment, to watch a little more as Brandon scrambles off the chair, dodging the pieces of broken glass, and heads for the refrigerator.
Pulling violently on the refrigerator door, Brandon flings it wide open – and it stays open, of course. Brandon puts the glass on the floor – out of harm’s way, supposedly – and grabs, not the little half gallon of milk, but the big gallon container that is full of milk. He rips open the top, pours it in the vicinity of the glass, and even manages to get some milk in the glass. The rest goes all over the floor.
Finally done, Brandon puts the milk carton on the floor and picks up the glass yelling, “Daddy, I got something for you!” He runs into the living room, trips, and spills milk all over the place – the floor, the sofa, his dad.
Brandon stands up and looks around. He sees broken glass, milk everywhere, cabinets open, his dad with milk from his eyebrows to his toes, and starts to cry. Through his tears, he looks up at his dad with that pained expression that says, “What are you going to do to me?”
His dad only smiles. He doesn’t see a kid that just destroyed his house. Instead he sees a beautiful little boy whom he loves very much. It doesn’t matter what he’s done. Brandon’s dad stretches his arms out to hold his little boy tight and says, “This is my son!”
As we continue to remember and pray for those who had lost their lives to the senseless violence in our country, let this also be a reminder that we as a people, as a nation, and as the whole of humanity had once again messed up. Like the Prodigal Son, we shut the door in our Father’s face. We forced Jesus to leave our home, our school, our government, our hearts and when He did, our eyes are opened to the brutality and reality of evil. Luckily, God is our Father who loves us so unconditionally. HE cannot and will not leave us orphaned. Even when we make a real mess of things, just as Brandon’s dad who threw his arms around his son and said, “This is my son!” God also opens wide His arms, as Jesus did on the cross, and says: “You are my children!”
Be not silenced nor numbed to the evil happening around you. Through lives of holiness, let us continue to proclaim to one another the mercy and love of our God and allow the His Spirit to inflame the hearts of people in your workplace, your home and community. Let His light shines and believe that your God is the mighty fortress, always ready to help in times of trouble. Satan loves to take what’s beautiful and ruin it. God loves to take what’s ruined and make it beautiful for we are His children, the flock He shepherds!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Congratulations to Samantha Willow Ridgway, daughter of Maggie Ridgway. Samantha just finished her Masters at Arizona State University in NeuroBiology and is moving next week to San Diego to complete her PhD in NeuroBiology and Teaching. May God be with you and continue to work His miracle through you each and every day!
Do you have any news to share so we can celebrate or sympathize with you? Perhaps a death of an immediate family member (or a loved one of a colleague – be sure to get their permission), or birth of a child, an engagement, or graduation from a program. Share with me so I can share with the entire organization!!! Email [email protected]