Dressing A Ferret

Isaiah 61:10 – I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (ESV)

My youngest daughter, Sophia, is her own person. Being not yet two, she is quite prepared to stand her own ground and show her disapproval; she is, then, not a quiet child. It encourages me that she clearly carries my genes and personality type — along with her mother's. Yet my heart goes out to her, because life is going to be a hard road for her, if, like me, she decides to set her face against anything she considers as unfair or unjust.

I perceive that she has within her the potential to go far in life — with a little learning and leadership — because of her strength of will, intelligence, and personality. Maybe in time, her force of personality can be tempered with a little discretion and wisdom. In my case, it was a long time coming, and is still arriving. I hope I can ease her path a little as she grows.

Presently, she is not going to learn much at all by being told. She learns by being shown things with kindness and a little gentle encouragement, and also anything that comes through from a television screen, which transfixes her (sadly like her dad too!). Being told "No" is always going to be interesting in this household — not that she is unruly; she just likes to be in control. I cannot think where she gets that from!

Currently, she does not see the world from my perspective! Why should she?

So, when it comes to bedtime and putting on her nappy and vest, she sees this as a time to play up and wriggle out of our clutches, in order to prolong the delay for drinks and bed, and sibling rivalry permitting, to get some attention along the way. When she is not willing, my wife Caroline says that it is like trying to dress a ferret. As soon as she is finally dressed, she smiles, looks sheepish, and giggles, because she knows that she has been playing up, and we love her.

One wonders how God views us when He attempts to clothe us with salvation when we need it, and how those clothes of righteousness are going for today. Are we resisting or refusing the process, struggling to get our own way, just playing for time, or are we accommodating?

Whichever way, God loves us and wants us to allow Him to have His way with us today — the sooner the better — so that we can rest in His perfect will for us, cleaned up and in His care.

Prayer: Lord, so often we struggle to get out of Your grasp, attempting to get away, like the prophet Jonah, relying on Your forbearance because You love us. Today, we come before You that we may once more be cleaned up and clothed in a right mind and Spirit to be Your disciples today. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.