Delightful? Really?

I spent a lot of time this morning re-directing the toddler.

"No, we do not keep opening the freezer."

"No, let's not take the chicken nuggets we pilfered from the freezer and hide them on the floor of the pantry."

"We do not play with the toilet brush."

"Please don't crawl on top of the table."

"Please stop poking me in the eye. I love the fact that you know the word 'eye,' but don't feel you need to shove your thumb in mine while saying the word."

"Please get that out of your mouth!"

Currently, I'm watching him play peek-a-boo with Sissy by covering his entire little body up with a blanket. He's always so excited to reveal himself. Hearing him squeal and giggle mostly makes up for the frustration of the morning.

I'm humbly reminded that God must look at me in a very similar light. How often does He have to remind me gently (and sometimes not so gently) that I'm being disobedient? How many times does He shake his head and think, "You've got to be kidding me?! Again, with this?"

"No, let's not use that kind of language."

"Hey Stubborn, how about you check with Me first, before you make these rash decisions?"

"Don't roll your eyes at Me; you knew better than that."

"Hey, guess what? You can't fix that... it's My job."

What a relief that He has more patience than I! What a blessing that He has such grace! I wonder how many times He has seen me kicking and screaming because I didn't get my way? Probably more than I would want to acknowledge.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

(Zephaniah 3:17). *emphasis mine*

He delights in us! Isn't that a miracle of gigantic proportions? After all our failures, all of our attempts to "handle things", our inadequacies, our doubt... He can still forgive us, love us, and "take great delight" in us. How blessed we are! Our Father loves us, disciplines us... and still delights in us.