Maturity by Beth Alegria (El Salvador)

Faviola is 8 years old.  I think she shares a fare amount of household responsibility for her age.  She keeps her room clean, takes the trash out, sets and clears the table and is responsible for keeping the dogs' water dishes full.  She does all of this without complaint.  After a very busy week I noticed that our house was starting to get out of control.  Floors need to be cleaned, dishes in the sink from yesterday and laundry out on the line.(I can see my mom cringing) As I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes and thinking about not only the house hold chores that were ahead of me, but the grocery shopping, and the urge I have to clean out storage bins and a little bit of office work that I need to finish I asked Favi if she would mind taking the clothes off of the line, folding them and putting them away.  They were her clothes after all. She said "sure mom" with a smile on her face and ran outside to get her clothes.  About 20 minutes later she came in and told me she had completed that chore.  She was still smiling and very proud of herself.  As I finished up the dishes I thought "Man, I've got a crazy kid.  The more chores I give her the happier she is." I know when her dad gets home she'll be excited to tell him how she took her clothes off the line and folded them neatly.  She'll tell him how I trusted her to do a grown up job.  I'm thinking about it.  As she gets older and more mature of course she should be able to take on more responsibility.  It should be the same way with us and our Christian walk.  The older we get; that is the more spiritual mature we become, the more responsibility we should be able to take on. 

​Many people comment on how they are amazed or concerned for how much Oscar and I have taken on in our ministry.  It is true that we live very busy lives with little down time.  As we mature and grow God knows He can give us a little more.  The difference between Faviola and me is that I don't always take on more responsibility with a smile on my face.  Sometimes I take on more feeling tired and overwhelmed.  Sometimes I take on more with a bit of an attitude.  Sometimes I wish we could take a vacation.  Sometimes I wish we could spend several days at the beach.  Please understand, I am not whining.  I LOVE DOING WHAT I DO, but I am also human and have the same desires as every other person.  I guess I'm saying all of this to say that today I learned from my 8 year old daughter.  I need to be proud and honored when God sees that I am ready to take on more responsibility.  I need to complete everything with a joyful attitude.  There is a scripture verse that I memorized when I was a young child.  Those of you who were raised in the Baptist Church in the 70s may remember a club called GMG- Girls Meeting God. It came before Awanas. Our theme verse was Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him". I stand on this verse many times throughout my days.  I want to be a cheerful servant of Christ.  Just like Favi will recount her day with her dad when he comes home this afternoon, I will recount my day with my Heavenly Father as I lay my head on my pillow to go to sleep tonight.  I hope I have the same joy and pride in what I did as Faviola does. Ok, I need to get back to cleaning my house.....

To learn more about the Alegria's and their ministry, visit their website!

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