With a Snap of My Fingers

If I could snap my fingers and instantly change something about my sons, I would choose this:  the way David and Tobin, my current Sandpaper Boys, relate to each other.  Watching them compete about E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G brings back vivid memories of the way Josiah and David acted towards each other a few years ago, back when I dreaded, for example, the bedtime routine because of how they would argue about who got the tube of toothpaste first and who got to hold the book of bedtime devotionals and who got to pray first and who got to turn off the light and everything else they could possibly compete about.  I don't know how many times I would ask them, "What's the most important thing?" and listen for their grudging answer, "Love your brother."  I thought they would never learn to put that lesson into practice because, after all, it's very easy to say the right answer with your lips but very difficult to deny yourself long enough to actually do it!  But watching David and Tobin battle it out these days does one positive thing for me:  it makes me realize how far Josiah and David have come.  ;-)  Being reminded of that does give me hope for the future.  Though it seems incomprehensible some days, I do believe that someday, Tobin will refrain from pushing all David's buttons (an activity in which he shows striking ability!) and David will learn how to respond maturely and let little things roll off his back.  But, oh, if my finger-snaps were powerful enough to change it today, I would!

If I could snap my fingers and instantly change something about myself, I would increase my amount of patience a thousandfold and would never let another harsh word leave my lips.

If I could snap my fingers and instantly change something about my house, I would make my bedroom transform itself into a perfectly-organized space.  For months, that room has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to time spent cleaning and organizing; and it's become much more of a dumping ground than I would like. I love my room!  The dark blue wall color is wonderfully appealing to me, the generous size of the room is fantastic, the special furnishings and decorations make it very attractive in my eyes.  But with a disorganized closet, piles of things to take to the thrift store, a laundry basket or two with clean clothes to be folded, too many books on a bookshelf, etc., it's not the peaceful, welcoming, relaxing and refreshing space that it could be.

If I could snap my fingers and instantly change something about our family rhythms, it would be this:  I would find a way to incorporate regular reading aloud as a family after supper.  Throughout the day, I do lots of reading aloud to the boys, so it's not as if I think they're neglected in that way.  But there's something so very cozy and special about reading longer books aloud together.  Through the past few years, we've had some spurts of doing well with that--for example, I remember Jeff reading some of The Chronicles of Narnia to Josiah and David--but it's certainly not a consistent habit.  I wish I could find a way to change that.

But no matter how much I snap my fingers, nothing seems to happen!

Two days ago, I read this quote at the beginning of a post by Courtney at Storing Up Treasures:

Gradual growth in grace, growth in knowledge, growth in faith, growth in love, growth in holiness, growth in humility, growth in spiritual-mindedness - all this I see clearly taught and urged in Scripture, and clearly exemplified in the lives of many of God's saints.  But sudden, instantaneous leaps from conversion to...consecration I fail to see in the Bible.

~ J. C. Ryle

And I thought, "Really?"

I know from personal experience that, yes, growth in all these areas of being Christ-like is more accurately described as "slow" rather than "sudden" for me.  But then I think about the Apostle Paul and how fast and startling and radical his conversion was, and I realize that sometimes there are sudden changes.  On the other hand, I remember Jacob and his many years of living deceitfully before he, snail-like, showed signs of change and became a man of integrity in his old age.

So which is it?

Surely some of both.

I believe there can be points in a person's life when they make a complete u-turn and drastically change their behavior and character.  It would be terribly disheartening to stop believing in such a possibility.

But at the same time, I'm enough of a realist to know that usually, for most of us (and definitely for my Sandpaper Boys), in the majority of areas in which we need change, that transformation takes place little by little, bit by bit, day by day, moment by moment, inch by inch.  Try as I may, no amount of finger-snapping alters that!